Upstaged
by Silver Bee
Summary: Drama onstage and off for Virgil and Gordon.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer - not mine - I'd take better care of them if they were!

_A bit of a change from the last two stories. Not a sequel but follows on 5 years after the last one. Things have changed, the boys are growing up... Virgil's cheered up too! Can't promise that's going to last though... _

Chapter One

With a tingling of excitement not unlike that which he'd always experienced as a small child at Christmas, Scott Tracy turned into the driveway of his old Kansas home. He hadn't seen his family for nearly six months and although he phoned and emailed everyone regularly, he'd missed actually seeing them. His first months in the Air Force had been amongst the toughest of his life and although he was finally starting out on the career he'd always dreamed of, the initial training had taken more out of him than he'd expected. His first week of leave had come as a welcome relief and he was looking forward to spending time with his family – well, most of them. His father was off on a business trip and wouldn't be back for another few days, whilst John was away at college. Still, it would be good to sample some of Grandma's cooking – she'd promised to make all of his favourites – and he could at least spend some time with his three youngest brothers.

He'd made good time and was almost an hour earlier than he'd anticipated, but even so he was still hoping for a rapturous welcome as he parked the car and jumped out. Looking expectantly up at the porch he was somewhat disappointed when he saw only the lone figure of his second youngest brother. Even then he fully expected Gordon to rush towards him with his usual exuberance, but when the boy simply got up with a sigh and trudged towards him, obviously forcing the smile which appeared on his face as he drew near, Scott's feeling of excitement faded, to be replaced with concern.

"Hey Scott." Gordon sounded as miserable as he looked.

"Gordon?" Scott asked slowly. "Something wrong? Where's everyone else?"

"Grandma's gone to pick Al up from his baseball practice. Virgil should be here soon unless..."

"What?"

"He might go round to his girlfriend's. He's hardly ever here these days."

"Oh," Scott was a little surprised at the bitterness in Gordon's voice. "That's Melanie, right?"

He'd had Virgil on the phone often enough over the past few months, first telling him enthusiastically about his new girlfriend, then, in a particularly memorable conversation, nervously asking him for the kind of advice he'd never be able to get from Grandma. Scott had been happy to give him the benefit of his fairly extensive experience with women, but at the same time he'd been a little disconcerted to realise that his little brother was all grown up.

"Yeah." Gordon's lack of enthusiasm was obvious.

"Don't you like her?"

"Yeah, she's okay. I just don't like Virg very much right now."

Although he was taken aback at Gordon's comment, Scott wasn't particularly surprised at how quickly he slipped back into big brother mode. He'd been back two minutes and it felt like he'd never been away. Another argument to settle? Quite how his brothers had managed since he'd left home he didn't know.

"What's he done?"

"Nothing."

"Okay..." Scott sighed. It was going to be one of _those_ discussions. "You might need to give me a bit more to work with here, Gords."

Gordon was quiet for a moment, then he looked over at his brother and Scott could see that he was genuinely upset.

"There's this girl I like..." And that explained everything, thought Scott, settling down on the porch steps next to his brother.

" Her name's Alice and she's- Scott, she's just the most wonderful girl I've ever met..." As Gordon went on... and on... Scott realised his brother had got it badly. First crushes were always the worst, he thought, wondering where Virgil came into this. His middle brother was intuitive and usually pretty good at giving advice, so quite what had gone on to make Gordon so resentful towards him was anyone's guess. When Gordon finally ran out of adjectives to describe the apparently flawless Alice, Scott looked across at him.

"Okay, so you've met the girl of your dreams. Have you done anything about it?"

"I was going to ask her out this afternoon."

"Didn't go well, huh?" Scott put an arm around his brother's shoulders. Even he'd experienced rejection and he wondered if he could bring himself to share this particularly unhappy memory with Gordon. Not something he really wanted to talk about, but sacrifices had to be made when a brother needed his help.

"I told Neil I was going to do it, just so I wouldn't chicken out. But he couldn't keep his mouth shut and by lunchtime everyone knew. Then one of her friends came over and told me Alice likes someone else so there'd be no point asking her."

"Oh, who?" Scott had a feeling he knew where this was going, but before Gordon could answer another car pulled up and Virgil leapt out. At least this time Scott got his enthusiastic welcome. It was a good few minutes before he remembered their younger brother. But when he turned around Gordon was gone.

"What's up with Gordon?" Scott asked as he and Virgil went inside.

"Gordon? I don't know. He was alright this morning."

"He said something about a girl," Scott began.

"Oh, right. Alice? The most perfect girl in the world?"

"That's the one."

"He's been moping over her for days. He-"

Gordon shot out of the kitchen at top speed, an uncharacteristic look of fury on his face as he turned on Virgil.

"Stop laughing at me!"

"What? Gordon, I wasn't!"

"Yes you were. I hate you, Virgil! You've already got Melanie and now Alice likes you too. How am I supposed to compete with you? You're older and you play the piano and all the girls like you..."

Scott would have laughed at Virgil's dumbstruck expression if Gordon hadn't been so distressed.

"Gords, I'm sorry, I didn't know." Virgil did feel bad about it, not to mention embarrassed. And maybe just a little flattered too, if he was honest with himself. Not that he'd ever admit it to Gordon, or Scott.

"I haven't done anything to encourage her, I promise. Honestly, I'm happy with Mel."

"I know! That just makes it worse. She knows you're not interested and she still likes you. You've just managed to make two of us miserable!"

"Gordon, these things happen, you know. It's not Virgil's fault." Scott tried to calm his brother down.

"Yeah, I might have known you two would stick together."

"Gordon-" Virgil wasn't even allowed to finish the sentence before his brother turned on him again.

"It's not fair! You've got a girlfriend. You go round to her place every evening when her mother's working. You tell Grandma that you're studying in the library or practising for some recital and I have to cover for you whenever you're late home from school. And I know exactly what you get up to here on Saturday afternoons when everyone else is out -"

"Gordon! Would you mind keeping your voice down? I'm sure the neighbours don't want to hear about your brother's love life!" The three brothers whirled around at the sound of Grandma's cold voice. They hadn't heard her come in. Alan stood behind her, wide eyed and trying not to laugh. Virgil wasn't laughing though and Scott looked at him in sympathy as his grandmother turned her attention away from Gordon.

"Virgil, I think you and I need to have a talk after dinner." Turning on her heel she was away into the kitchen before any of the boys could say anything. They stared at each other for a moment then Virgil glared at Gordon.

"Thanks, Gordon!" And he was gone.

"Serves him right," Gordon laughed spitefully before heading upstairs followed by a grinning Alan.

Scott took himself into the kitchen where Grandma was setting the table rather more noisily than usual.

"Let me do that," he offered, taking the pile of plates from her and beginning to set them out.

"You know," he said tentatively, "Virgil's not a kid anymore."

"I know, Scott. And I'm not the naive old woman you all seem to take me for. It's no surprise to me to hear what he's been up to. I'd just rather not have heard about it from Gordon."

"Yeah, well, Virgil probably agrees with you there."

There was silence for a moment before Scott commented,

"After everything that happened to him when he was a kid it's good to see him just being normal."

"I know. And I'm glad he's happy now. But he'll always be a little boy to me. You all will."

Scott smiled.

"I suppose you've been encouraging him," Grandma said with a sudden twinkle in her eye.

"Well, I might have given him a few pointers..."

"Well maybe you can do the same for Gordon. I take it things didn't work out with this girl?"

"Apparently not. Seems she's got a crush on Virg."

"Oh dear. No wonder Gordon's not happy. Are you going to talk to him?" Silly question really, Grandma thought – of course Scott would try to solve his brother's problems, just as he always did.

"Guess so. Didn't take long to get back to normal, did it?"

* * *

Dinner was an awkward meal. Gordon was quiet, but Virgil seemed to want to prolong the meal for as long as he possibly could, obviously hoping to put off his forthcoming talk with Grandma. Scott tried to keep the conversation along neutral lines, asking his brothers about school.

"I'm busy," Virgil said. "Especially now rehearsals for the theatre production have started. We're doing _Little Shop of Horrors. _Mel's got the lead – she's going to be great. I'm in the band – there's a lot of piano in this one._"_

"Not on stage this year, then?" Scott asked.

"Don't be stupid, Scott," Gordon chipped in before Virgil could reply. "There's no part for our perfect brother in that piece. I'd have a better chance of getting a role – there's got to be some loser or misfit I'd be just right for."

Virgil shook his head in frustration.

"Maybe you should audition then. Alice is in the chorus, so you could actually do something to get her attention instead of moping around all the time."

Before Gordon could come up with a response Grandma broke it up.

"That's enough, both of you! Poor Scott will be packing his bags and heading back to his base if you carry on like this."

Gordon muttered an unconvincing apology and turned his attention to his food. There was silence for a moment before Virgil spoke again.

"Hey, Gordon," he said, earning little more than a grunt from his brother. "You'll never guess who auditioned today."

"What? You mean you really were playing the piano after school?" Gordon asked bitterly.

"Yes, you know I was," Virgil glared at him before going back to his original topic. "Who do you think tried out for the Dentist?"

Gordon mentioned a couple of names with little interest.

"No, no one that obvious. Think of the person least likely to get involved in a musical. Then think of the person who most resembles a psychopathic bully."

Only one name came to mind and Gordon was finally interested enough to forget his troubles as he stared at his brother.

"Not James McCauley?"

"Yep. He was really good as well – pity really, I don't want to have to spend weeks rehearsing with him. I think he might get it though."

"Isn't that the boy you had trouble with a few years ago?" Grandma asked.

"Yeah. I haven't had much to do with him these past few years. We take different classes and he spends most of his time in the gym. He's a boxer – he always did like knocking people around."

"Well as I recall you got in a few good punches of your own," Scott said. "Didn't you break his nose?"

"Yeah. Don't think he's ever forgiven me."

"You know he's Alice's cousin?" The dreamy look was back on Gordon's face.

"Really?" Virgil was genuinely surprised. "There's not much of a resemblance is there?"

Gordon glared at him. "Why do you care what she looks like?"

"Gordon!" Scott warned.

Virgil felt sorry for his brother, he really did, but at that moment he'd had enough.

"For the last time, I'm not trying to steal your would-be-girlfriend, Gordon! And especially not now I know who she's related to. What do you want me to do? Tell her I'm not interested? Ask her to go out with you?"

"No! Just leave me alone!" Gordon was out of the kitchen before anyone could react.

Grandma sighed. "Alright, everyone, finish up and get yourselves out of here. Not you, Virgil. You can help me clear up. Scott, just close the door on your way out will you?"

With a whispered "Good luck!" Scott was gone, though he had to go back to the door to drag Alan away when he turned to see him with his ear to the keyhole.

"Come on," he said, pushing him up the stairs. "You can help me talk some sense into Gordon."

"Now why would I want to do that?" Alan asked. "This is fun."

_Fun? _Scott thought. _Just you wait, kid, it'll be your turn next. _And that was a really frightening thought!

Gordon wasn't in the most receptive of moods and his refusal to allow Scott to cheer him up left the young man wondering if he was losing his touch with his younger brothers. Leaving him to wallow in thoughts of Alice he returned to the lounge, wondering how much longer Grandma was going to keep Virgil in the kitchen. He didn't envy his brother, having been on the receiving end of one of Grandma's lectures a few years before. He still blushed when he thought about it. Sure enough, Virgil finally emerged looking absolutely mortified.

"How was it?" Scott asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," his brother replied, sinking into a chair and burying his head in his hands. "Grandmothers shouldn't be allowed to talk about things like that. She's an old lady – how come she knows so much anyway?"

"Well, she did find that book of John's..." Scott reminded him.

That brought a smile as they remembered one of the few times their articulate brother had been lost for words.

"Guess we've all been caught out at one time or another," Virgil said. "I just hope I'm around when it's Gordon's turn."

"Hey, don't be too hard on him. He's got it badly."

"I know. But I swear I haven't done anything to encourage this girl. I don't think I've ever even spoken to her."

"Well, you have been a bit preoccupied," Scott teased. "Come on, let's go for a drive. You can tell me all about Melanie. When do I get to meet her?"

Virgil was glad of the chance to get out of the house and get some time alone with Scott. Things just hadn't been the same since his brother had left home. Although they spoke often on the phone, he missed having him around. It had been better when John was there, but the last eighteen months had been hard. He didn't like being the oldest one left, although he got on well with Gordon and Alan – most of the time anyway. Gordon had been a real pain these past few days and he didn't know what he could do to help, especially after this latest development. He sympathised with his brother, but he really could have done without being dropped in it like that. The talk with Grandma had been embarrassing to say the least, even worse than the one his father had given him a few years ago - and, thanks to his older brothers, Virgil had known most of the details anyway. But Grandma... he really owed Gordon for that.

The worst thing though, was that after the lecture she'd gone on to surprise him by giving him a hug and telling him how pleased she was that she was able to lecture him at all, after fearing she'd lose him to kidnappers, then having to watch him struggle to come to terms with what had happened to him. That had brought back memories he usually kept locked away, another reason to be mad at Gordon.

Five years ago he'd been very different, though to be honest, he didn't recognise the damaged boy he had been any more, not when he looked in the mirror, or in the way he felt. It had taken him a long time to learn to live with what had happened to him and he didn't often think back to the dreadful experiences he'd suffered years ago, but when he did he always felt a sensation of utter relief that they were in the past and he'd been able to move on. He'd had a miserable time of it a few years ago; surely he deserved to be happy now. After all, all he wanted was to be like other kids his age. It had taken him a long time to get there. There had been times when he hadn't been sure he'd see another day, let alone make it to seventeen. People who didn't know what he'd been through just assumed that he was naturally calm and composed, but those close to him knew it was a hard-won serenity. He'd had to work hard to recover his balance and control his feelings and he didn't like anything which threatened that stability or reminded him of those terrible times.

It was a sharp poke in the ribs which roused him.

"What was that for?"

"Are you going to get moving or are we just going to sit in your car?" Scott asked.

"Where do you want to go?" Virgil asked, slipping the car into gear and moving off.

"Anywhere, just take me on a tour of the place," Scott said, leaning back lazily. "I thought you might want to get out of the house for a bit."

"Yeah, it might be better for Gordon's health if I don't see him for a while," Virgil agreed.

"Poor kid. I seem to remember you being just as bad over that girl from your art class."

"Oh, yeah, Rachel. I'd forgotten about her."

"Found someone to take your mind off her, obviously."

"Yeah..." Virgil drifted off into his own world for a moment.

"Where's Dad off to this time?" Scott asked, changing the subject and wondering what Virgil's response would be.

"No idea. He's been kind of secretive lately - locking the door of his study, hiding the papers on his desk when he does let anyone in. I don't know what he's up to."

"Oh," Scott said. He had a fair idea of what was going on, following the extraordinary conversation he'd had with his father a few weeks earlier. He knew that John had had the same discussion, but his father obviously hadn't felt the time was right to share his plans with his younger sons. It felt strange to have a secret from Virgil.

Both brothers grew quiet, Scott considering yet again the fantastic plans his father was developing, whilst Virgil was predictably thinking about Melanie. He couldn't wait to show her off to Scott. Life really was pretty good right now, he thought, pulling up outside their favourite coffee house. If it wasn't for Gordon everything would be perfect. Then he pushed all thoughts of his younger brother and his girlfriend out of his head – he'd waited a long time for Scott to come home and he intended to make the most of it.

* * *

The next day was a Saturday and Scott got to meet Melanie when she came round to practise her songs for the production. He could see the attraction – quite aside from being pretty, she had a lovely voice. Scott could see why his brother was so smitten. After a while he got the feeling that he was definitely in the way, but, having promised Grandma that he'd keep an eye on the pair of them, he maintained his role of chaperone dutifully, despite Virgil's increasingly heavy hints. In the end Virgil had given up and taken Melanie home. Scott didn't expect him back any time soon, but he felt he'd done his duty as far as Grandma was concerned. It was proving to be an interesting trip home, he thought, as he took out his phone to check in with John. He knew his brother would be amused by his brothers' antics and he wondered if he'd had any more thoughts about their father's plan.

Virgil knew he was pushing his luck with Grandma when he got home five minutes after the others had started eating dinner. Still, who could blame him? Mel's mother had been out and they'd had to behave themselves all afternoon in front of Scott. No wonder they'd got a little carried away when they finally got some time to themselves. Despite his lateness he paused a moment before heading into the house. Life really was good: he was looking forward to the production - always happier to be hidden in the orchestra pit than actually performing on stage; he had a beautiful girlfriend; he was looking forward to beginning his studies in Denver... And although he was more of a realist than most boys his age, he felt a real optimism about the future. He might have stayed staring distractedly up at the night sky for longer, but his grandmother's angry shout as she banged on the window roused him and he started running for the door.

* * *

Monday came quickly. Alan, Gordon and Virgil would have liked to have skipped school to spend time with Scott, but he insisted they go. Waving the last of them off with a grin, he returned to a leisurely late breakfast. He'd spent most of Sunday trying to cheer Gordon up. He hadn't been able to do anything about the resentment Gordon felt towards Virgil, but at least his brother had been a bit more positive that morning, looking forward to a good workout in the pool before classes started.

Gordon always felt good after a swim, although that morning it had taken him a while to settle down after several of his team-mates had teased him about his lack of success with Alice. It seemed the whole school knew and he was resigned to a day of teasing and jokes at his expense. But swimming was a great stress-reliever. No matter what was bothering him, he could always make himself feel better as he pounded up and down the pool. Today was no different and he was a natural optimist, after all. Scott's efforts to make him feel better hadn't been in vain and Gordon was definitely feeling more positive. He might not have Virgil's talent for art and music, but he had plenty going for himself, now he came to think about it. The interschool championships were in a couple of weeks and surely a couple of medals would be just the thing to impress Alice. Yes, he thought, he wasn't out of the fight just yet. Maybe he could even enlist Virgil's help, get him to put in a good word. He didn't really like being at odds with his brother and although Virgil didn't spend so much time with him these days, he was pretty good company when he was there. Yeah, he thought, Virgil had suffered enough with his lecture from Grandma – he'd have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that one! He'd make it up with him that night and the four brothers could do something together – if he could drag Virgil away from Melanie, he thought with a wry grin. By the time he'd finished his workout he was feeling better than he had for days.

His good mood didn't last long. Hauling himself up onto the side of the pool he spotted the solid bulk of James McCauley heading his way. Wondering just what the boxer was doing by the pool and hoping he hadn't come looking for trouble, he went to move past, but found himself caught by two large hands.

Wishing he hadn't decided to put in a few extra laps by himself after the rest of the team had finished, he tried to slip out of McCauley's grasp, but the older boy wasn't letting go. Instead he moved closer to Gordon, putting on the menacing expression that sometimes had his opponents ready to throw in the towel before the fight had even begun.

"What's going on?" Gordon asked, hoping he didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

McCauley had at least forty pounds on him and Gordon knew he couldn't fight him off. He'd have to try though. Tensing in readiness, he decided to follow his brother's lead and go for the face, though given McCauley's subsequent experience in the boxing ring he had a feeling he might not even get in one good hit. It didn't look good.

"Listen, kid," McCauley growled. "I've heard you've been bothering my cousin. Just leave her alone. She doesn't want anything to do with you. And even if she did I wouldn't let her hang around with a Tracy. Got it?"

Gordon would normally have come up with some smart comment, but his feelings for Alice were just too complicated, so he simply nodded, feeling humiliated and slightly hopeless. McCauley seemed to think his intimidation tactics had worked, because he let go of Gordon before suddenly pushing him backwards into the pool.

Rising to the surface, spluttering with the surprise of swallowing several mouthfuls of water – something he hadn't done since he was about three years old - Gordon dragged himself out of the pool. Anger at the older boy and frustration over his feelings for Alice got the better of him and he squared up to McCauley, trying to ignore the amusement and transparent lack of any kind of concern in the other boy's eyes.

"Yeah, well, you don't have to worry about me. Alice isn't interested." As McCauley laughed Gordon went on without thinking. "But you might want to have a word with Virgil – she's got a thing for him and I'm guessing you're not going to be as quick to pick on him. You're not much in the looks department, you know – you can't afford to get your nose broken again."

McCauley flushed and a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. His reputation as the hard boy of his year had taken something of a battering after the usually quiet Virgil had snapped and got in what McCauley still referred to as a 'lucky' punch. In reality though he knew there had been nothing lucky about it – he'd been well-beaten and things would have been a lot worse if a couple of teachers hadn't broken the fight up. Five years later he hadn't forgotten and he certainly hadn't forgiven. He'd hoped to get his revenge, but their teachers had gone out of their way to keep the two apart and their paths never crossed outside school. The theatre production would be the first time the pair had had anything to do with each other in years.

The news that Virgil was the object of Alice's affections wasn't at all welcome. All the animosity he felt towards Virgil came flooding back and Gordon's outburst simply fuelled the fire. His initial reaction was to head off to find Virgil and finish what he'd started years before. And this time he was determined that it would be Virgil who came off worst. After all, Virgil wasn't really a fighter; he'd just been somewhat out of control after his kidnapping. McCauley on the other hand had been determined that he'd never let anyone get the better of him again, hence his decision to take up boxing. He was good too, physically intimidating and pretty much impervious to pain, though with an obvious enjoyment for inflicting it on others. Truth be told, when a fight was going badly he would imagine it was Virgil squaring up against him and that would give him the inspiration he needed to reduce his opponent to a pulp. If only he could have done that in reality... He knew though that he couldn't risk it. He didn't think Virgil would be able to get the better of him now, but the boy had a rich, influential father, not to mention plenty of friends in school. James McCauley might not have been the brightest of students, but he wasn't stupid. Any attack on Virgil would have serious repercussions. But now, with the added incentive of family honour – not that he really had much to do with Alice, but that wasn't the point – he wondered if his time had come. There were only a few months till graduation. He could wait.

Gordon watched him nervously, regretting his outburst. He could guess what McCauley was thinking and he wondered what kind of trouble he'd just caused for Virgil. When McCauley said nothing in response, just stalked away thoughtfully, Gordon decided he'd better warn his brother.

Gordon didn't have a chance to catch up with Virgil until lunchtime. By then news had got around that McCauley had got the part in the play. That was just going to give him more of an opportunity to get at Virgil and Gordon wished he'd kept his mouth shut. He knew he could find his brother in the art room painting scenery. He just hoped Virgil wasn't going to be too mad at him.

Virgil was more than a little surprised when Gordon decided to join him.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Thought you weren't speaking to me."

"Yeah, well," Gordon shuffled uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Virg. I think I might have done something stupid."

"Again?" Virgil tried to bite back the sarcastic comment but he guessed Gordon had heard as his brother frowned. "Sorry... What have you done this time?"

"McCauley had a go at me about Alice-"

"What? Did he hurt you?" Virgil automatically thought the worst where James McCauley was concerned.

"No, just pushed me in the pool. I'm okay – he knows I'm no threat. The thing is, Virg, I got a bit mad and I might have mentioned something about her liking you."

Virgil sighed. Great. He'd nearly got to the end of high school without another run in with McCauley. Trust Gordon to drop him in it. With all the rehearsals they had coming up it wasn't as if he was going to be able to avoid him, either.

"Are you mad at me?" Gordon asked nervously. "He didn't say anything, but it was obvious he wasn't happy."

"He's never happy." Virgil said shortly, still wondering how this one was going to play out. He didn't really think McCauley would be stupid enough to cause any trouble, not when graduation was so close. He'd just have to watch his back for the next few months. And at least if McCauley was mad at him then at least he wouldn't be worrying about Gordon.

"We could tell Scott," Gordon suggested.

"Why? What could he do?" Virgil didn't think much of that idea. "I'm a bit old to have Scott fighting my battles for me, Gordon. As I recall I've done alright against McCauley by myself."

"Yeah, but that was before he joined the boxing club. And to be honest, Virg, he could probably take you pretty easily now."

Virgil raised an unamused eyebrow. "You think so?"

"Well, maybe not when you're mad." Gordon was backtracking now. He was so used to Virgil being calm and controlled that he'd forgotten just how fierce he could be when he wanted. Still, there was no point inviting trouble.

"Do you want me to tell Mr Kingsley? He might kick him out of the play."

Virgil looked at him. "Why would he do that? As much as I hate McCauley he's going to be fantastic. He really wants to do it too. I think he'll behave himself – at least until the play's over. And Alice is in the chorus, so I guess if I ignore her he'll get the message that I'm not interested."

"He'll probably beat you up for breaking her heart," Gordon said gloomily, wondering how he was going to be able to pursue Alice with her cousin watching over her.

"Come on, Gords. It'll be okay. And he's done me a favour. At least you're talking to me now."

Gordon smiled. "I guess I don't hate you really, otherwise I wouldn't be worrying about you."

Virgil stopped to look at him for a moment, rubbing a paint stained hand across his forehead, oblivious to the smudge which was left there.

"Okay, Gords, I'll be careful. Now while you're here why don't you make yourself useful? Pick up that brush. You can do the night sky – even you can manage a plain black canvas.

They worked in companionable silence for the rest of the lunch break.

* * *

Scott and Grandma were glad to see that the breach between the brothers had been healed. Later that evening Gordon took his oldest brother to one side and told him about his run in with James McCauley and his fears for Virgil. Scott thought for a while.

"Virgil's right, you know, I can't go in and sort McCauley out. I'd end up in jail for threatening a kid. Trust Virg on this. He knows how to stay out of trouble."

Gordon shot him an incredulous look, causing Scott to amend his statement.

"Well, most of the time. But he's only likely to do something stupid if he's trying to protect you, so as long as you keep out of it... Have you given up on Alice now?"

"Guess so," Gordon said. He'd already decided that the risks to himself and his brother were too high. He just wished his heart would catch up with his head – there was still that funny fluttery feeling every time he thought about her. Scott smiled sympathetically and braced himself for the ridicule he knew would shortly come.

"Cheer up, Gords. Did I ever tell you about the time I asked Katie Reynolds out?"

Well, anything to cheer the kid up...


	2. Chapter 2

_A massive thanks for the reviews and alerts – I was a bit nervous about this one as it's so different from my first two, so it was reassuring to get good feedback. Updates should be fairly quick on this one – it was meant to be a short story but it ran away with itself. Not to mention Gordon refusing to follow the original storyline and getting himself in the thick of the action. Once again I seem to have no control over the characters – hence 'Upstaged'..._

_'Little Shop of Horrors' is somebody else's too!_

Chapter Two

Almost a week had passed since his encounter with James McCauley and Gordon was finally starting to relax, deciding that maybe McCauley wasn't going to ambush his brother – not just yet, anyway. But he still spent a lot of time hanging around Virgil and the rest of the music and drama group - which of course just happened to include the girl of his dreams, his resolution to give her up having lasted all of five minutes. Virgil, whilst he appreciated his brother's help with the scenery and props, was keenly aware of the real reasons for his presence.

"You know, I really don't need a bodyguard, Gords," he pointed out. "Though it's nice of you to care."

Gordon shrugged. "I know. I've just got interested in the play, that's all." It was true - he kept finding himself humming the songs and he'd sat through the DVD numerous times with his brother. He was looking forward to seeing how it worked on stage, planning to attend every single performance – to support Virgil of course, nothing to do with Alice!

Virgil noticed him glance towards the door as it opened. "I don't think the chorus are practising until after school," he said gently, knowing that his brother still pined for Alice.

"I know," Gordon said as the two of them went over to help their drama teacher manoeuvre some boxes through the door.

"Here we are," said Mr Kingsley once all the boxes were moved in. "The star of the show."

"The plant?" Virgil asked.

Mr Kingsley nodded, pulling at the tape which secured the first box. With the two brothers' help the boxes were soon open and the various sized plants were unpacked and admired. Gordon in particular was fascinated and as the teacher explained how the larger plants would need an operator inside them, it didn't take long for him to ask to have a go.

By the time the bell rang for the end of lunch Gordon had got the hang of operating the mouth and a couple of roots. Extricating himself from the body of the plant, he was surprised when the teacher held out his hand.

"Welcome to the cast, Gordon. That is, if you want to do it."

"Really?" Gordon was thrilled. This was more than he'd ever hoped for. He'd be part of the play, have a real shot at getting to know Alice, plus he'd get to clown around on stage. With a huge grin he shook Mr Kingsley's hand.

"Hey, Virg," he said. "You'll be accompanying me. Think you're up to it?"

Virgil sighed, wondering if his teacher knew what he was letting himself in for. "I'll be accompanying Clem. You're only moving the mouth, remember? He's singing."

"Yeah," Gordon said. Then a thought struck him. "Hey, I get to eat McCauley. " The day had just got even better!

* * *

Now he was a proper member of the production, Gordon threw himself into rehearsals. Things were going well, though Virgil found it hard to watch his girlfriend being pushed around by his enemy. Melanie wasn't too keen either. She was no fan of McCauley who gripped her arm just a bit too tightly and seemed to enjoy kissing her just a little too much. Still, to keep Virgil from getting worked up she kept quiet. Of all the people who could have got the part, she thought, why did it have to be him? It would be a miracle if they got to the end of the last performance without her hitting him, let alone Virgil.

Virgil and McCauley had stayed out of each other's way as far as possible. Virgil was determined not to cause any problems for the rest of the cast and – although it was killing him – was even trying to be friendly. For his part, McCauley, recognising that most of the cast were Virgil's friends, had gone out of his way to behave. Even so, his reputation went before him and too many of the actors and musicians had been on the wrong end of his malicious comments in the past to fully trust him now. They were well aware of the animosity between McCauley and Virgil and everyone was just waiting for things to kick off. But it wasn't Virgil, or even Gordon who started the trouble that afternoon, it was Virgil's best friend Dylan Walters, who was playing drums in the orchestra. One missed cue by McCauley was all it took.

"You came in too soon," the boxer complained.

Dylan shook his head. "I was right. You were a beat behind. Want to try it again?"

With a muttered curse which earned him a warning from Mr Kingsley, McCauley started again. This time he got a few more bars into the song before missing his cue once again. It didn't help that someone laughed and a humiliated McCauley looked for a scapegoat.

"Hey, Walters," he complained. "How about you keep in time?"

"Nothing wrong with my timing. Everyone else came in at the right place."

Confident that there was safety in numbers, several others backed up the drummer and McCauley backed off, though he didn't look happy. When he went wrong a third time though, his frustration was evident as he took a step towards Dylan who rose to his feet, gripping his drumsticks tightly ready to defend himself.

"Come on, James," Mr Kingsley said, hoping to calm things down before they got out of hand. "This is why we have rehearsals. It doesn't matter, let's try it again. Watch me and I'll bring you in."

Gritting his teeth McCauley prepared to start again. This time he got to the end of the song without any mistakes, but when Mr Kingsley congratulated him he had to bite back a sarcastic comment. It was a relief when they moved onto one of Mel's songs and he was able to skulk around at the back of the rehearsal room. He frowned as he saw Alice gazing at Virgil in open admiration as he played. As if that wasn't bad enough Gordon Tracy was staring at her, obviously still infatuated. He might need to have another word, he thought, cheering up immediately at the prospect.

They got through the rest of the rehearsal without any more problems. McCauley was the first to leave, having no one to stay and chat to. He'd just got to his car when he realised he'd left his phone in the dressing room. Walking back he overheard some of the others talking as they left the building.

"See you Sunday. Two o'clock at Virgil's, right?"

"Yeah, we need the extra practice. We're never going to be ready at this rate."

McCauley stopped. So the other leads were having a practice without him? Tracy was inviting everyone round to his house and leaving him out? Quite why Virgil would want to have him in his house after everything which had passed between them wasn't the issue. McCauley just felt slighted. Instead of going home he headed off to the gym where he offered some sparring practice to anyone who fancied it. After the second man had been carried out of the ring there were no more takers. McCauley felt a lot better though.

* * *

On Sunday afternoon several members of the cast congregated at the Tracy house. With Virgil at the piano and Dylan on his electric drumkit they worked through most of the songs. Gordon hovered in the lounge. Alice wasn't there, but another girl in his year had been given a lead role. Jo was thrilled but nervous and Gordon told himself that he was just hanging around to give her a bit of support, especially since all the other leads were older than her. The fact that she was a friend of Alice's had nothing to do with it, of course.

Everyone was much more relaxed without McCauley and plenty of progress was made.

"It's a pity we can't work on the Dentist's songs," Dylan said. "I don't want another run in with McCauley. I'd feel happier knowing that we were all sorted so he can't pick on anyone again."

"I'll sing it," suggested Clem.

"You come in later in the song," Mel pointed out. "You can't sing both parts."

"I'll do it," Gordon piped up.

Dylan's rehearsal disintegrated into chaos as everyone ended up in fits of hysterical laughter at Gordon's tuneless but wickedly effective impersonation of James McCauley. Even Virgil went wrong several times as he laughed at his brother's over the top performance.

"Well, Virg," Clem said when they had all calmed down. "Looks like you're not the only performer in the family. Gordon here's going to uphold the family honour when you're in college."

"Yeah, as long as they don't do another musical. Sorry Gordon, but Virgil's still the only brother who can carry a tune," Mel said, causing Virgil to gaze fondly back at her, much to Gordon's disgust. He suddenly wondered if he got that same expression when he looked at Alice and, with a sinking feeling, decided he probably did. He resolved to perfect a look of manly detachment ready for the next time he saw her.

Jo glanced at her watch and jumped to her feet. "I have to go; I'm meeting some friends in half an hour."

Gordon's heart sank. 'Some friends' probably included Alice and he'd just totally humiliated her cousin. Jo was bound to tell Alice about it. That was it; he'd blown his chances completely. Wondering if he could persuade her to keep quiet, he followed Jo to the door. Putting on her coat she noticed his miserable look and took pity on him.

"Don't worry, Gordon. I won't tell Alice how you sent up James. Actually though she probably wouldn't mind. I don't think she's too fond of him. He bosses her around a bit too you know. In fact, I'll put in a good word for you."

Gordon stared at her hopefully. "Really?"

"Sure. I know she's got this thing for Virgil, but she knows it's never going to happen. You should hang in there; I think you might be in with a chance. Louise Bailey was saying she thinks you're cute and Alice agreed. Louise was a bit upset actually, she knows you like Alice."

"Oh..." Gordon felt a rush of excitement quickly followed by panic. Louise Bailey? She liked him? But he liked Alice... who liked Virgil... who liked Melanie - who at least liked him back. He wondered if some other boy was moping around after Louise – he wouldn't be surprised. If he hadn't been focused on Alice he'd have been flattered. Maybe... No! He rushed off to find his phone. He had to talk to Scott – all this teenage angst was getting too much for him.

* * *

It was an even more enthusiastic Gordon who hurried along to the next rehearsal. Jo had embraced her role of matchmaker, passing on the news that Alice had expressed a bit more interest in him. He was desperate to get a few words with her, though how he was going to manage it when McCauley was still watching him intently, just daring him to make a move, he didn't know. It wasn't until halfway through when they stopped for a break that Gordon got his chance. With McCauley deep in discussion with Mr Kingsley, he approached Alice, who was sitting on her own on the edge of the stage.

"So..." he said, suddenly lost for words.

"Yeah?" Alice said. She looked at him then looked away, obviously aware that she had the upper hand and curious to see what he was going to come up with to impress her.

"You sounded good," Gordon said, hoping that flattery would get him into Alice's good books.

"You could hear me?" she asked, turning round to face him.

"Yeah," Gordon lied – he hadn't been able to make out her voice really, but she didn't have to know that. "You definitely stood out from the others."

"That's terrible!" Her consternation surprised him. "If you could hear me over the others then I must have been too loud. Or else I was off key." She jumped off the stage and headed over to Mrs Power, the music teacher, looking decidedly anxious.

_What did I do?_ Gordon wondered. He'd have to get Virgil's advice on what to say to a singer – or what not to say. Turning around he saw James McCauley heading his way. Great! It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd managed to get anywhere with Alice – that would have made a beating worthwhile, but if McCauley had got it into his head that he'd done something to upset the girl then he'd really be in trouble. He made a dash for the piano, sticking close to Virgil until the rehearsal started up again.

McCauley watched as Gordon leant against the piano and started chatting to his brother. It was only the prospect of losing his role in the play which held him back from causing any trouble. He still couldn't quite believe he was doing this. If his brother hadn't blackmailed him into it he'd never even have auditioned. Even so, he could have deliberately made a mess of it but by then Ross had told his mother what was going on and she'd been so excited at the prospect of seeing her son on stage that he'd fought his embarrassment and gone all out to get the part. Like all hard men he loved his mother – he had to accept that he hadn't given her a whole lot to be proud of as far as school was concerned – and Ross had taken full advantage of this. Of course, there would be other benefits to taking the role - Ross was going to regret the bet he'd made with him that he'd get thrown out before the final performance. No, he thought, looking at the two Tracy brothers again, he'd bide his time.

He was still in a foul mood at the end of the rehearsal. Although he headed outside straight away, he stood beside his car for a while, finishing off a cigarette and thinking about the past couple of hours. He'd be having a few words with Alice later, not to mention warning her brother to keep an eye on her. Even though she didn't seem too keen right now, Gordon Tracy just might be able to attract her interest if he kept on trying. After all, he was popular, athletic and rich. McCauley only had one of those qualities and he envied the Tracy brothers for their wealth. And although he tried to tell himself that they were only popular because of their father's money, he knew this wasn't really the case. None of them courted attention and they had in fact become pretty good over the years at recognising those who just wanted to be their friends because their father was rich. It was another reason to resent them.

It was at that moment that Melanie came out of the building. She'd offered to babysit for a neighbour that night, so instead of leaving with Virgil, she'd decided to make her own way home. McCauley saw her hesitate as she caught sight of him and smiled. He'd still got it, he thought. He'd always enjoyed intimidating people, especially girls, and Mel had given him plenty of fun over the years. She was the perfect target, a shy girl whose father had left home when she was small, leaving her mother struggling to get by. Her obvious poverty had made her an easy target.

For her part Mel had hated James McCauley for years. He'd bullied her mercilessly and she could still remember how pleased she'd been when Virgil had attacked him all those years ago. If he hadn't been so traumatised after his kidnapping she thought she might have fallen for him right then. Instead, it had taken them five years to get together. These past few months had been some of the happiest of her life.

McCauley stepped out in front of her.

"Good practice," he said agreeably, setting warning bells ringing for Mel right away. He was at his most dangerous when he pretended to be nice.

"Guess so," she responded neutrally, trying to move around him. He shifted his position, blocking her again. As she tried to back away he reached out and gripped her arm, making the sore places where he'd grabbed her a little too tightly in rehearsal smart all over again.

"Where's your boyfriend?" he asked, leaning in towards her.

"On his way," she said, trying to sound confident and hoping that Virgil would make an appearance. She wasn't too hopeful though, as she left he'd been preparing to go through one of the songs again.

"Surprised you've left him behind," McCauley commented. "I bet you couldn't believe your luck when you landed Tracy. You must have thought he was way out of your league. Surprised at him too, slumming it with you. Still, guess there's something in it for him." He leered at her.

Mel flushed. Why did McCauley have this knack of picking on people's weak spots? She'd never felt she was good enough for Virgil, even though he made it clear he didn't care about her family or her lack of money. It wasn't as if he flaunted his own wealth. His father insisted he do chores to earn his allowance and he looked and behaved like any other student. But there was no ignoring the fact that, as McCauley had pointed out, the two of them were very different.

"Get away from me." Mel tried to pull away but McCauley was having none of it.

"Better make the most of it while you can. I mean, everyone knows it's not going to last. Sure, he's having some fun now, but what happens after graduation? Tracy's not going to stick around here. There'll be plenty of girls in Denver, you know."

McCauley continued, a sly smile playing over his face as he murmured in her ear,

"It must be killing you to think of missing out on all that cash."

Mel wrenched herself free. She wanted to defend herself but the words wouldn't come out. She certainly wasn't going to tell McCauley how she felt about Virgil. She knew he wasn't the only one to assume that she was with him for his father's money - including Jeff Tracy himself. She'd been terrified the first time she'd met him, forcing herself to look him in the eye as he appraised her and asked her about herself. Despite Virgil's assurance that he'd been the same with all the girls Scott and John had brought home, she'd gone out of her way to show she wasn't interested in the money. But the more she'd talked, the more she got the feeling that he disapproved of her. She could see him becoming more and more concerned that she'd divert Virgil from the path his father was so keen he should follow. She was going to study music and she knew that Virgil had agonised over his final choice of career. Of course she'd hoped he'd choose music and go to California with her, but she'd seen the excitement in his eyes when he talked about Denver and she wasn't about to take that away from him.

Pushing past McCauley she ran down the path. There was no way she could tell Virgil about this. She couldn't avoid McCauley either. Hearing the sound of his laughter behind her she wondered how she was going to cope over the next few weeks.

McCauley watched as she ran off, knowing he'd touched a nerve. He felt a lot more cheerful as he got into his car and drove away. He'd be having a few words with Alice later, and, despite the fact she was his cousin, he'd enjoy putting her in her place too.

But his little talk with Alice didn't quite have the desired effect. Knowing her cousin well she'd decided that the most appropriate course of action would be to pretend to agree with everything he said. But Alice was fourteen and developing a strong romantic streak. She was realistic enough to know she'd never get anywhere with Virgil, but the more her cousin railed against Gordon, the more attractive he became in her eyes and she resolved to give him a chance. After all, she'd just been reading _Romeo and Juliet_ in English and what could be more romantic than forbidden love?

Gordon was oblivious to the fact that he was now playing the role of romantic hero in addition to that of the plant, but he was delighted that Alice seemed to be warming to him, even if it did mean sneaking around in order to avoid McCauley's watchful eye. Fortunately, Virgil was willing to help out, managing to distract the other boy, despite warning Gordon that he'd probably get his fingers broken if McCauley realised what was going on. He didn't really mind helping out, though – he was glad to see his brother happy at last. And the prospect of putting one over on McCauley was an added bonus.

* * *

Finally rehearsals were over and the first night of _Little Shop of Horrors _arrived_. _Alan and Grandma would be there to support Gordon and Virgil. Their father would be home for the final performance and Alan would be going with him again, eager to witness Gordon's moment of glory a second time – he didn't mind so much about Virgil, having seen him perform countless times, not to mention being totally sick of hearing him play the same pieces over and over again. Apart from that, he'd be glad to get Gordon back – his brother usually sided with him and he'd been more than a little put out when he started spending more time with Virgil. The sooner his brother forgot plants and girls and got back to normal the better, as far as he was concerned.

Grandma glanced up at the clock. Nearly time to go. Heading out into the hallway to get her coat, she was confronted by an agitated Virgil who charged down the stairs, nearly knocking her over.

"Sorry, Grandma," he gasped, pushing past her. "I can't find my music."

With a shake of her head Grandma followed him into the lounge where Alan and Gordon were watching TV.

"Has anyone seen my music?" Virgil asked, pulling open drawers and pushing Alan off his chair so he could look under the cushion.

"Music?" Alan asked. "What do you need that for Virg? You've been playing without music for the last few weeks. You must know it off by heart by now."

The colour drained from Virgil's face. "But it's a... _performance_. In front of... _people. _What if I go wrong?"

Grandma tutted. She'd seen this enough over the years. Virgil was infamous for his first night nerves.

"Now, Virgil, calm down. You do this every time. You know you'll be fine once the performance starts."

"Yeah, Virg," Alan said. "Why so worried anyway? After all the counselling you had I'd have thought you could easily stop yourself panicking every time you play in front of other people."

Virgil stopped his frantic search for his music and stared at him. He'd gone even paler and Gordon took pity on him as he floundered for an answer.

"Alan," he said, with a patronising hand on his brother's shoulder. "You don't understand. Musicians and athletes, we all need our rituals just to make sure everything goes well. I need my lucky towel; Virgil has to have a panic attack. That's just the way it is. If we do anything different it's bound to be a disaster, right, Virg?"

Virgil nodded. "Right. Panic attacks have always worked so far. I'm not going to change anything now."

"Oh, right." Alan thought for a moment. "Hey, you can borrow my lucky bear if you like."

Virgil's horrified cry of "_No!" _and Gordon's frantic mumblings about lack of time and not wanting to risk losing him got the message across, though Alan was a little put out.

"I don't know what you've got against Barclay. And you know he always turns up when he gets lost – it's happened often enough. Though how next door's dog managed to get hold of him when he was on the top shelf of the bookcase is a bit of a mystery..."

Gordon turned away to hide a wicked smile as Virgil resumed his frantic rummaging around the room. "_Where's my music?"_

"Right here where you left it half an hour ago," sighed Grandma, picking up the score from the piano and handing it to her grandson. Virgil clutched it happily. Then he looked at the clock.

"Come on, we're going to be late."

"Late?" Alan moaned as he headed out of the door. "You two might be, but Grandma and I are going to be sitting there for ages. Remind me again why we have to go with you?" There was a suspiciously innocent note in his voice and Gordon laughed.

"You know why, Al. Grandma doesn't want Virgil driving. Not after last year!"

"Last year?" Alan pretended to search his memory, ignoring Virgil's angry stares in his direction. "Last year... oh yes, I remember now. "

"Alan!" Grandma warned, urging them into the car – it was a miserable evening, cold and windy with the rain threatening to come down at any moment.

"Yeah, Alan," Gordon chimed in. "It wasn't Virgil's fault. Not really. I mean, we should have known he'd be extra nervous, having to sing and everything. And we all thought that he'd be alright driving – I thought it would take his mind off things. Of course, when he tried to drive _through_ the gate I realised it hadn't... Which is why Grandma's driving tonight. I don't think she's up for another climb over the fence, are you, Grandma? "

"_Shut up!" _Virgil snarled. It wasn't one of his happiest memories. He'd only taken the role as a favour to his music teacher and he'd been a complete wreck all that day. As he'd driven down the drive he'd been so focused on trying to remember his lines that he'd simply forgotten to activate the remote which opened the electric gate. It could have happened to anyone. Of course his brothers had never let him forget it and ever since even Grandma and his father would tense up every time he drove them away from the house. He glared at Gordon then tried to blank out his brothers' teasing as he flicked through the music – some of which he could have sworn he'd never seen before.

When they reached the school Virgil shot out of the car and was gone, hoping for a quick word with Melanie before the performance started. Gordon got out and stood beside the car with his brother and grandmother. All of a sudden he was feeling a little nervous.

"Well," he said, "I'd better go in. I mean, I don't have to do anything until later, but I'd better make sure Audrey's okay." He hovered uncertainly, suddenly feeling guilty for all the teasing of Virgil. He guessed his brother's nerves were rubbing off on him. He really hadn't expected to get stage fright, in fact up till now it had all been a bit of a joke, but suddenly he wasn't laughing anymore. Finally taking pity on him, Grandma reached back into the car.

"Here you go," she smiled, holding something out to him.

A huge grin lit up Gordon's face.

"Thanks Grandma!" After a quick hug he too headed into the building, clutching his lucky towel tightly.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for all the reviews and alerts – they really are very much appreciated._

Chapter Three

As anyone could have predicted, the first night was a triumph. Virgil's nerves disappeared the moment he played the first note and the whole orchestra played better than they'd ever managed in rehearsals. Gordon was a big hit, earning a huge cheer when the plant took the curtain call. But it was James McCauley who earned the most applause. He was a revelation and even Virgil and Gordon had to admit he was superb in the part. The audience booed as he manhandled Melanie – though she could have done without the bruises he left on her arm – and cheered as he met his grisly end. When the performance finally came to an end and everyone congregated backstage, it was McCauley who attracted the most attention.

Seeing him surrounded by admirers, Gordon took advantage of the opportunity to talk to Alice. By now he could manage whole sentences without getting tongue-tied or putting his foot in his mouth and he thought she was definitely starting to like him. Sure enough, she not only gave him a beaming smile as they congratulated each other on their performances but she was on such a high that she even offered him her phone number. Gordon was ecstatic – it seemed his lucky towel didn't just work for swimming competitions!

* * *

Between school and the musical Virgil and Gordon didn't have a spare minute that week. When Friday came around they were both worn out. Gordon thought he'd be glad when the final curtain fell and he could get back to his usual routine. Show business wasn't for him, he thought. He'd enjoyed himself and it had given him a way in with Alice, but he definitely preferred swimming. He was looking forward to the after-show party, though. As tradition dictated, the first hour would be spent at school under strict supervision, then the older kids would congregate at someone's house for a more informal celebration. Gordon had suggested they hold the party at the Tracy house but Virgil had pointed out that Dad and Grandma's presence might put a bit of a restraint on proceedings and he bowed to his brother's experience in these matters. Plus they'd have had to invite James McCauley and that was never going to work out. So Gordon had declared himself willing to go wherever the party was, much to his brother's amusement. When Virgil told him that he was a bit young for this kind of party Gordon hadn't been too happy, especially when his grandmother had backed Virgil and told him he couldn't go. He'd been seriously annoyed for a while, but when he found out that the party was to be held at Clem's, who lived just several houses down from his friend Neil, he was delighted. He got on well with Clem – after all, he was the voice of the plant – and thought he'd have no problem getting himself an invite. Arranging to stay over at his friend's, he figured he should be able to spend most of the evening at the party, just as long as he stayed out of Virgil's way.

There was a sense of expectation when Friday night came. The last performance was going to be the best as far as the cast were concerned. Gordon was feeling particularly enthusiastic, though thoughts of Alice and the party occupied a fair part of his mind. Even so, he intended to give the performance of his life in honour of his father who, with Alan, had a front row seat.

The first half was superb. Gordon was relieved when the interval came, though – his costume was hot and he really needed some water. He was just finishing his drink when someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned round to see Alice.

"You look hot," she said.

Gordon blushed, nodded and mumbled something about the costume and the lights.

"Come outside to cool down," Alice suggested, pulling an entirely willing though somewhat surprised Gordon outside. It was a cold, windy night and only a few people were there. Moving a little away from the others, they sat down on a bench.

In the end there wasn't a lot of conversation. They were fourteen, they'd been eyeing each other up for the past few weeks and here they were sitting in the moonlight, the applause of the audience still ringing in their ears. Gordon had been wondering whether the time was right to make a move when Alice took the initiative and he closed his eyes in anticipation as their lips met. His first kiss with the girl of his dreams... Sure enough it was better than anything he'd ever imagined – and his imagination had been working overtime lately.

The earth moved for Gordon - literally, as a pair of strong hands grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pulled him off a startled Alice.

"What do you think you're doing?" Gordon wasn't surprised – though he was definitely worried – to see James McCauley. And he got a closer view than he'd ever wanted, as McCauley shoved him up against the wall and leant in close.

"I hope someone else fits that costume because you're going to be dead by the second half."

Alice screamed for help as she tried to prise her cousin's hands away from her boyfriend's neck. A couple of people came running over, but McCauley wasn't letting go of Gordon who was starting to go a deep red as he struggled to get a breath.

Then Virgil arrived. He'd been inside talking to Mel when Brian Russell, who was playing Seymour, had rushed in yelling something about McCauley, Gordon and Alice. Instantly he charged outside, to see his brother being threatened. He launched himself at McCauley and suddenly the boxer had two Tracys to worry about. He loosened his hold on Gordon as he turned to face Virgil, giving the younger boy the opportunity to recover a little.

"Keep out of it. This is between me and your brother. I warned him what would happen if he touched my cousin."

"Yeah, well Gordon's not so good at taking advice." Virgil glared at his brother, who'd managed to get his breath back and was standing nervously watching the two older boys square up to each other. McCauley looked more intimidating than ever and Gordon feared that Virgil was going to come off worst. He'd have to join in and bite McCauley's ankles or something, he thought.

Just as McCauley took a step closer to Virgil Mrs Power came running out, followed by Mr Kingsley.

"_James! Virgil!_ Get inside _now! _You two can kill each other after the show for all I care, but I'm not having my production ruined."

McCauley hesitated. As Mrs Power had pointed out, there was only another hour of the show to go and there was a lot at stake. Plus, his mother was in the audience, just as she'd been for every performance – he'd seen her sitting just a couple of seats away from Jeff Tracy – and she'd be heartbroken if he missed his final scenes. Virgil could wait he thought. Just another hour. With a final snarl of "Later!" he turned away from Virgil and stormed back into the theatre.

Grabbing Gordon by the arm, Virgil dragged him inside.

"Couldn't you have waited until the end of the show?"

"Alice wanted to go outside," Gordon protested. After all, he hadn't started all this. "_She_ kissed _me_. I'm the innocent victim in all of this."

Virgil stopped and stared at him incredulously. "Innocent victim? You? I'm the one who's going to get beaten up and what have_ I_ done? You couldn't have picked a girl from a normal family?"

There was no time for Gordon to answer as Mrs Power hissed at them to get to their places. She didn't look happy and they both knew they'd have some explaining to do later.

The euphoria of the first act had been destroyed by the events of the interval and it was a nervous start to the second half. But everyone gradually settled and after a while things were in full swing. As usual there was a loud cheer when the Dentist died. McCauley smiled to himself. He'd nearly done it. At least all the acting and singing was over and done with. He'd done his mom proud. All he had to do now was play dead while he was fed to the plant. Another minute or two and he'd have won his bet. Letting himself be dragged across the stage he made himself a dead weight as Brian pulled him upright and began to push him into the plant.

Gordon was still fuming. His kiss with Alice had been ruined, his brother and his teachers were mad at him and his neck was sore where McCauley had gripped it. As Brian pushed the boxer into the plant, Gordon decided to get his revenge. Instead of simply 'swallowing' him – letting him slide halfway into the plant's mouth before the lights cut out - he decided to have a bit of fun. After all, what could McCauley do with a couple of hundred people watching him?

There was a gasp from Brian, who was nearly knocked over as the 'body' was pushed backwards, having apparently been spat out by the plant, which then began to stamp on it with its 'roots'. He wasn't nearly as surprised as McCauley however, who, despite the fact that his character was dead, suddenly sprang into life. Gordon instantly regretted his actions as he found himself being pummelled by McCauley. Even though the costume offered a fair bit of padding, the punches still hurt and he began to fight back as best he could, whilst a bewildered Brian tried to restrain McCauley, only to be knocked flying for his trouble.

The audience loved it! The rest of the cast were confused. Down in the orchestra pit Mrs Power watched in horror as chaos erupted on the stage. Virgil couldn't see what was going on – his place at the back of the orchestra pit meant he could only see the music teacher as she conducted them, but he knew from the thuds and grunts that something was going on. As Dylan mouthed "Gordon?" to him he could only shrug. He started to get up from his piano stool but an icy glare from Mrs Power stopped him.

The music teacher got them playing again as the lights cut out and several people charged onto the stage to break up the fight. The noise of the music drowned out the angry recriminations of Mr Kingsley as he dragged McCauley away, pushing him into the waiting arms of a couple of other teachers. Returning to check on Gordon he took the boy's word for it that he was okay, told him he'd speak to him after the show and headed backstage where Clem – who'd thankfully had the sense to turn off his microphone – was telling a raging McCauley in no uncertain terms to stay away from the party. It looked as if another fight was about to break out.

"James, get out!" Mr Kingsley ordered. "No curtain call, just go home and calm down."

McCauley almost squared up to the teacher. It was only Mr Ellis's offer to go and get his mother to take him home which stopped him. He was actually pretty satisfied with the night's events – he'd won his bet, got a few punches in on the younger Tracy and he could look forward to a real fight with Virgil at a later date. After all, family honour had to be satisfied on both sides. His hard man image was intact too. He didn't want to spoil things now with the humiliation which would follow if his mother had to be called out to take him home. So he stepped back and with a final glare at Clem, stormed off to the dressing room, followed by Mr Ellis.

Mr Kingsley drew in a deep breath.

"Right, let's get on with it."

The audience were getting a little restless. Most of them thought the scuffle was part of the show, but Jeff had been gleefully informed by Alan – who, apart from having seen one performance already, had spent hours reading Clem's lines to help Gordon work out his actions – that this wasn't supposed to happen. He groaned to himself. Trust Gordon to embarrass him – he never had this trouble when he just came to watch Virgil. Looking towards the orchestra pit he hoped his other son wasn't going to get involved. He could only just see the top of Virgil's head, but from the sound of it he was concentrating on his playing. He could only imagine the trouble there would be afterwards though if this turned out to be Gordon's fault. Thankfully the lights came back on, the final part of the show got underway and Jeff managed to put his concerns behind him as he enjoyed the performances of both his sons.

Usually at the end of a show, the orchestra would spend a few minutes congratulating each other and basking in the glow of a good performance before packing away. This time however, as the final notes faded and the applause died out, everyone abandoned their instruments and rushed backstage, eager to know what they'd missed. It came as no surprise to Virgil to find out what had happened and, although he was relieved that McCauley had been escorted out of the school and wouldn't be at the party, he was still annoyed enough to give Gordon a blistering lecture about his behaviour. Gordon would have protested but he figured that he'd better let Virgil get it out of his system, otherwise his brother was likely to insist their father take him home instead of letting him go to Neil's – and then he'd have no chance of getting to the party. Plus, he did feel kind of bad about almost ruining things – he could tell that people were angry although one or two had commented that McCauley had deserved it. Maybe it hadn't been his most sensible decision, but in the end there had been no harm done. Well, except to him – he had a few more bruises to add to the ones around his throat.

He was rescued from Virgil by Mr Kingsley, but it was only a brief respite. It was only after a ten minute lecture from the joint forces of Mr Kingsley and Mrs Power that he was allowed back to the others. Looking around for Alice, hoping to continue what they'd started now that McCauley was out of the way, he was disappointed when Jo came over to tell him that McCauley's mother had dragged Alice off home, having apparently received a call from her furious son to tell her what had gone on. He hoped she wouldn't be too angry at him – though he thought she'd probably be more annoyed that he'd put the show at risk than at the fact that he'd scuffled with her cousin.

Gordon had to endure a further round of complaints from Virgil when Jeff and Alan joined them. Whilst Alan thought the whole thing was hilarious, Jeff was inclined to side with Virgil. He wanted to take Gordon straight home and the boy had to think quickly to find an excuse to go to Neil's. Telling him that Neil's mother had already prepared them a special after-show supper and it would be a shame for her to have gone to all that trouble for nothing, he pleaded with his father to let him go. Finally Jeff – with a promise that they'd talk further the next day – left him to it and headed off to find Mrs Power and Mr Kingsley to offer his apologies.

* * *

To Gordon's relief Virgil didn't say much as they drove to Clem's. When they arrived he said a quick goodnight before heading off to Neil's. He was aware of his brother watching him as he walked down the street and made sure to turn and give him a wave before walking on up the drive. He knew Virgil would be inside the house in thirty seconds, but Gordon gave him a full two minutes before calling Neil and leading his friend back down the street. By this time the outside of the house was deserted and it was easy for the two boys to sneak round to the back entrance. As expected Clem had got out the beers the moment his parents had left for a neighbour's and he welcomed the boys cheerfully, handing them each a bottle with a whispered,

"Virgil's in the living room. If he catches you I know nothing!" before leaving the boys to it.

This was going to be quite a night, thought Gordon. His first kiss and now a leisurely beer with his best friend. Yep, he was all grown up. He was sorry Alice wasn't there, but given his earlier behaviour it might be for the best. He only hoped she wouldn't hold it against him. He'd call her in the morning and grovel. He was working out just what to say to her when the bottle was twisted from his hand and he turned round in surprise to be confronted by an angry Virgil.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, grabbing him by the arm and steering him into the hallway. Neil followed sheepishly, hiding his own bottle in a plant pot first.

"Oh, come on Virg," Gordon said. "Don't tell me you won't be having any."

"I'm not fourteen!" Virgil pointed out. "You're not supposed to be here anyway. I thought you told Dad you were going straight to Neil's."

"Change of plan," Gordon told him, trying to grab the bottle back. Virgil was having none of it. "Come on," he said. "I'm taking you back."

"Why? Stop treating me like a kid!" Gordon knew he was whining, but he wasn't happy with the way his evening was going.

"Stop acting like one then," Virgil commented, pushing him towards the door. Mel and Dylan had come over now, trying not to laugh at the younger boys' mutinous expressions.

"I'll be right back," Virgil promised. "Just let me get rid of the kids then we can enjoy ourselves."

Gordon scowled, furious that between them Virgil and James had managed to spoil his fun. Now he'd have to spend the rest of the evening drinking hot chocolate and having some mind-numbingly dull conversation with Neil's friendly but extremely talkative mother. The best night of his life had been spoilt and right at that moment he hated his brother.

Virgil waited long enough for Neil and Gordon to get their coats then ushered them down the drive and along to Neil's house. He resisted the temptation to take each one by the ear as they dragged their feet sulkily all the way there. He wished he'd stopped to find his own coat, but he wasn't sure where he'd left it and he didn't want to risk Gordon escaping if he went to look for it. It really was a freezing cold night and the wind hadn't let up at all. At least it wasn't raining yet, he thought gratefully, though the few spots which began to fall as they neared their destination suggested that it wouldn't be long. He couldn't wait to get back to the party.

"Here we are," said Virgil as they turned into Neil's drive.

"Yeah, well, thanks for babysitting," Gordon muttered. "You can go and have some fun now."

"Don't be like that, Gordon," Virgil said. "I'm trying to keep you out of trouble, you know that."

"Yeah, well, no trouble here. 'Night Virg."

Without waiting for Neil he made his way to the front door. With an apologetic look at Virgil, Neil hurried after his friend. Virgil watched as they went inside then turned away, glad to be able to get back to Clem's.

The walk back wasn't pleasant. Virgil had only got halfway there before the rain began to hammer down. Cursing his brother, and wishing once more that he'd stopped to put on his coat, he picked up his pace. As he glanced left and right before stepping into the road he barely noticed a car parked outside Clem's. As he crossed the road, facing into the driving rain, he dropped his head, trying to protect his face from the wind and rain. He didn't see the car begin to move and although he heard the sound of the engine revving, it never occurred to him that the car would suddenly pick up speed or that it would head straight for him.

He had no time to react before it hit him. He registered a sudden brightness as the car's lights flashed on, heard the squeal of the wheels spinning, but only had a second to turn his head before the impact. There was no time to be afraid, no time to feel any pain as he was thrown into the air, bouncing off the windshield before hitting the road hard. He rolled along the tarmac a few times as the car shot off down the street. It was over in seconds. Virgil lay in the road, broken and bleeding. The minutes ticked by, the rain poured down, but Virgil didn't move.


	4. Chapter 4

_It's all got a bit serious – sorry about that! A huge thanks for all the reviews. Bee_

Chapter Four

Back at the party, Mel and some of the others were already discussing possible choices for next year's production. It was only when Clem came over looking for Virgil that she realised he'd been gone for twenty minutes. It should only have taken him half that time.

"Poor Virg," Clem laughed. "He'll have been cornered by Neil's mom. She'll keep him talking half the night."

Mel laughed too and went back to her conversation. It was another ten minutes before she really started to worry. Virgil surely wouldn't have taken this long – he'd promised to hurry back. Okay, he was ridiculously polite – that was one of the things she loved about him - and she knew he would have put up with Mrs Kennedy's chatter for a lot longer than most people, but surely even he would have excused himself after thirty minutes. He really should have been back by now, she thought. Slipping away from the others she headed off to find Dylan. Pulling out her phone she called Virgil but there was no answer and that really got her worried.

"Dylan!" Not caring that he was deep in conversation with one of the girls, Mel grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"What?" Dylan asked in exasperation as the girl looked at them in surprise and walked away. "Jane, wait..." He moved to go after her but Mel pulled him back.

"Have you seen Virgil? He took Gordon down to Neil's a good half hour ago. I don't know if he's come back yet."

"What?"Dylan was surprised. "Did you call him?"

"No answer." Mel looked out of the window. "It's not exactly the best night for a stroll. You don't think something's happened to him, do you?"

"Of course not." Dylan refused to entertain the idea. But then where was Virgil? He knew his friend too well to even consider the prospect of him having been sidetracked by another girl. A nagging worry began to grow as he remembered McCauley's earlier threats. Surely he hadn't come back to make good on them?

"Come on," he said, pulling Mel towards the door. "Let's walk down to the Kennedy house and see what's going on. Gordon wasn't in the best of moods when they left; Virgil's probably trying to talk him round."

They stepped outside and Mel would have happily run straight back into the house if it wasn't for her concern for Virgil. Picking her way through the puddles on the drive she was thankful that at least the rain had stopped. That explained it, she thought – Virgil was just waiting for a break in the rain before he came back. He'd be there at any moment. Hugging her arms around herself to keep warm, she followed Dylan down the drive, fully expecting to see Virgil making his way back.

It was Dylan's frantic cry of _"Virgil!"_ which snapped Mel out of her reverie and got her running. As she reached the gate she came to a dead stop as she tried to comprehend the scene in front of her. Dylan knelt in the road beside the twisted body of his friend. Virgil lay motionless, and she didn't think it was just rainwater that pooled around his head.

For a moment she couldn't do anything except stare at Virgil. Then, as Dylan began to yell at her to get help, she was suddenly able to move, running back towards Clem's house. By the time she got inside she was screaming for someone to call an ambulance. The music was turned off and people were running out to the street before she could get her breath back. Her legs gave way and she collapsed into a chair. Jane stayed with her, though she kept looking anxiously towards the door. But no one came back to let them know what was happening.

"I need to see him," Mel said suddenly, pushing Jane's arm away and heading shakily outside. Now the street was full of people and she couldn't see Virgil who was hidden by the group of onlookers. In the distance she heard the sound of sirens and a moment later a police car pulled up alongside them.

The commotion had alerted the occupants of the nearby houses to the trouble and people were beginning to come outside to see what was going on. As an ambulance turned into the street Mel felt a moment's relief before she suddenly heard running footsteps. She knew just who had come charging over to find out what the problem was even before she heard Gordon crying out for his brother.

"Gordon!" Reaching out for him she tried to hold him back, but at that moment the police had managed to get everyone moved back so that the ambulance could get close. As the group of onlookers parted Gordon was able to see his brother for the first time.

"_Virgil!_" Mel lost her grip on Gordon as he charged forward, nearly knocking over one of the paramedics. He was grabbed by one of the policemen before he could reach his brother.

"Get off me!" he yelled, struggling to get out of the man's grasp. "That's my brother. Let me see him."

"Your brother, huh?" the man asked. "Well, how about you give us a few details while the paramedics see what they can do for him?"

Gordon suddenly realised he had no idea what had happened to leave his brother lying unconscious in the road, but he knew straight away who was responsible. "What happened? Was there a fight?"

"Looks like a car hit him," the officer said. "Why would you think there was a fight? Is there something I need to know?"

Gordon turned to stare at him. "James McCauley. That's all you need to know. He did this."

"Why makes you say that?" the man asked, getting out his notebook. "You didn't see anything, did you?"

"No, but he hates Virg, he's been out to get him for ages."

"But you didn't actually see anything?"

"No, but he did it. I know he did." Gordon had never been more certain of anything in his life.

"Alright, kid," the man said sympathetically, "We'll look into it. We'll talk to all the people here and we'll get someone over to this McCauley fellow, okay? Now in the meantime, how about you give me your brother's details? You live round here? We need to let your parents know what's going on."

"Parent," Gordon said numbly, "My mom's dead." Ignoring the policeman's startled look he stared across to where the paramedics were still working on Virgil. He wondered why they didn't get him off the road and into the ambulance. He must be so cold lying there on the ground. Were his injuries really so bad that he couldn't be moved somewhere more comfortable? Gordon had to fight to hold back the panic which was threatening to overwhelm him.

"Okay," the officer said slowly. "How about your dad?"

On autopilot, Gordon recited his father's contact details and told the officer what he needed to know about Virgil. He kept his gaze firmly fixed on his brother as the paramedics continued to tend to him, eventually becoming aware that Melanie had come to stand beside him.

"How is he?" she asked.

"I don't know. What happened?"

"He didn't come back after he'd taken you to Neil's. We thought he was talking to Neil's mom. It was only when he'd been gone half an hour I started to worry." Then a terrifying thought cut through the numbness and she caught his arm.

" Gordon, please tell me he wasn't lying there all that time."

Gordon turned to look at her, an expression of horror crossing his face as he took in what she was saying.

"He went straight back. I wasn't talking to him. I didn't want him to come inside. It's my fault." His voice was small and shaken. If only he'd done as he was told and gone straight to Neil's, Virgil wouldn't have had to escort him there. He'd be safely at the party now, not lying unconscious and bleeding in the road.

"No it's not. You didn't do this to him."

"You know who did though, don't you?" Gordon said bitterly.

"Well, the only person who'd want to hurt Virgil is James. Was he hanging around when you left?"

"No, of course not. Do you think I'd have let Virg go back alone if I'd known he was there?"

"No, I guess not." A thought struck her. "Does your father know?"

"The police are calling him. I should have done it, but..." Gordon didn't want to speak to his father right now, knowing that if he did he'd have to describe the scene in front of him. The paramedics finally seemed to be ready to move Virgil – he'd been lifted up onto a stretcher, an IV in his arm and an oxygen mask covering his face. Gordon felt sick at the sight.

The policeman was back.

"Okay, I've spoken to your father. He says to meet him at the hospital. Can you get a ride over there?"

"I'll drive." It was Dylan.

"How is he?" Mel whispered.

"I don't know. Not good."

All three watched the paramedic shut the ambulance door before the vehicle set off, quickly picking up speed as it headed off to the hospital. As it rounded the corner the sirens began to wail.

* * *

Jeff Tracy usually walked into a room calmly, the force of his personality instantly alerting people to his presence. He was confident, assertive and downright impressive – the kind of man you'd trust implicitly, whether it was with a rocket to the moon or a major investment. But when he ran into the Emergency Room that night, all his usual self-control was gone. It was a shocked and frightened man who approached the receptionist, failing to even see his other son sitting anxiously at the other end of the room.

"Dad!" Gordon spotted his father and left his seat to run over to him just as Jeff attracted the attention of the woman at the desk.

"My son, Virgil... Virgil Tracy. He was brought in here earlier. He was hit by a car." Saying the words aloud brought a vivid image of his son flying through the air to land in the road. He cursed himself – he wasn't usually that imaginative, why did he have to start now?

As the woman searched for the information, Gordon reached his father and threw himself at him in a way he hadn't done for years.

"Dad, you're here."

"Gordon? It's okay, son. What have they said about Virgil?"

"Nothing. They won't tell me anything. They took Virgil away in the ambulance and I haven't seen him since." He was close to tears and Jeff hated to think what he'd had to witness. He closed his eyes for a moment in distress, once again picturing his son lying in the road.

Hugging his younger son, Jeff turned back to the woman at the desk.

"I'm sorry, I don't have any update for you. The doctors are with him now. As soon as they've finished their assessment they'll let you know what's going on. You'll need to fill out the paperwork, I'm afraid."

Jeff tried to contain his frustration. He didn't want to fill out the paperwork and he didn't want to wait. He wanted news right there and then. The helplessness which he felt at that moment was a strange and unwelcome sensation. Most of the time he got what he wanted pretty much instantly. This was one of the times when it didn't matter that he was a billionaire. Throwing his weight around would achieve nothing, he would just have to wait. He prayed that the doctors would be out soon with good news. Okay, Gordon looked like he was in shock, but then he had seen his brother hurt. Surely things couldn't be that bad.

"Come on, son," he said. "Let's sit down and you can tell me all about it."

Gordon lost what little colour he still had and Jeff steered him over to a quiet corner. He'd registered Dylan and Melanie across the room, but right now he needed to talk to his son. Laying the hospital forms to one side, he turned to face Gordon.

Gordon told him everything – how he'd lied about going straight to Neil's, his last angry words to Virgil. He waited for his father to explode in fury at his behaviour, to blame him for what had happened to his brother. He knew he deserved it. But his father was silent. And to Gordon that was far worse. He started to apologise again but Jeff just held up a hand.

"Don't. Gordon, just... don't." He couldn't deal with anything other than Virgil right now.

Gordon was silent for a moment. Finally he spoke again.

"The police came. I told them it was McCauley. Who else could it be?"

Jeff had been well aware of the simmering feud between Virgil and James McCauley, but he hadn't expected things to escalate like this. When he'd spoken to Virgil his middle son had played down the issue, telling him McCauley wouldn't be foolish enough to cause any real trouble. But like Gordon, he didn't see who else could be responsible. It was too much of a coincidence that someone else should have hurt his son.

"We'll find out what happened, I promise," he told Gordon.

He studied Gordon quietly. He knew he should be angry with him but he could see how upset he was and how hard he was trying to hold it together. The flat tone of his voice plus the slight shake of his hands told him that the boy was close to breaking point. He took Gordon's hands in his.

"How are you doing, Gordon?" he asked. "You're in shock yourself by the look of it."

"I'm alright. I just wish they'd hurry up and tell us something about Virgil. Dad, there was so much blood and he wasn't moving. I thought he was dead at first... It was horrible. The paramedics were working on him and all I could do was watch – they wouldn't let me near him."

His voice cracked with the emotion of it all and Jeff hugged him closely, glad to be able to do something for at least one of his boys. It didn't sound good, he thought and he looked once again at the door to the ER, willing someone to come out and tell him just what was happening with Virgil.

Someone did come over, but it was Dylan, followed at a distance by Melanie.

"Uh, Mr Tracy, have you heard anything?"

"Not yet, Dylan. We have to wait for the doctors to check him out. They can't be much longer." _I hope_ , he thought. He was beginning to think if it was taking this long for the doctors to give him some news, then things must be bad.

"Why don't you two tell me what happened?" he suggested, wondering if they would support Gordon's theory. But Dylan and Mel, whilst agreeing that no one other than James could possibly be responsible, were equally unable to provide any solid evidence. Jeff knew that unless the police could find proof, mere suspicion wasn't going to be enough.

Excusing himself he headed off to call Grandma. Alan had been asleep when the police had called and they'd decided not to wake him. He knew his mother would be waiting anxiously beside the phone and he wished he had some news for her.

* * *

It was almost an hour later when the doctor came out to give him news of Virgil. The waiting had been bad, but the panic he felt upon seeing the man come through the door and head over to them after a quick consultation with the receptionist almost made Jeff's heart stop.

"Mr Tracy?" the doctor asked. "I'm Doctor Flynn, I've been treating your son."

Jeff stood up, steeled himself for the news and looked the man in the eye. He kept a hand on Gordon's shoulder, feeling his son tremble as they listened to the doctor.

"We've managed to stabilise Virgil. Thankfully it looks as if the car which hit him wasn't going terribly fast, but he has some nasty injuries all the same."

Jeff felt Gordon flinch and gripped his shoulder even tighter. The doctor went on,

"Our major concern is the head injury. He has a severe concussion and he's still unconscious. His leg is broken – it would have taken the initial impact before he was thrown onto the car. In addition, he has numerous cuts and bruises, but it's the bruising to his back that's causing us some concern. We can't rule out a spinal injury at present. I've ordered some scans - for his back and his head - and we're taking him up shortly."

"Is he going to be okay?" It was Gordon who asked the question, his voice little more than a whisper.

"We're doing everything we can for him," the doctor said. "Once the scans are completed we'll have him moved to the ICU."

That wasn't really what Gordon wanted to know. What he really wondered was whether his brother would be paralysed or brain damaged, but to say the words aloud might make it real, so he let his fears go unspoken. He guessed the others felt the same way when no one else pressed the doctor further.

"Can we see him?" Jeff asked.

"Just you," the doctor said, much to Gordon's frustration. "And only for a little while – he'll be going for his scan in a few minutes."

Jeff looked at Gordon anxiously. "I have to go to Virgil. Will you be okay? You'll be able to see him later."

"I'll be okay," Gordon said resignedly, sitting back down along with Dylan and a quietly sobbing Mel.

This wasn't the first time Jeff had stood at Virgil's bedside in a hospital, but it was by far the worst. Although the doctor had warned him about the various pieces of medical equipment attached to his son, actually seeing them was a shock. The sounds of the various machines should have been reassuring, proving to him that his son was alive, but each beep was a reminder of just how badly hurt he was, how dependent he was on all this equipment. Jeff placed a shaking hand on his son's shoulder. Virgil looked so pale, his head wrapped in bandages, dried blood covering his face. Jeff felt a desperate pity for his son, mixed with a terrible fury as he wondered who had done this. Was it James McCauley who had deliberately run his son down? Or was it an accident? Just some random motorist who had hit Virgil then panicked and driven off? As he whispered words of reassurance to his son, wondering if he could hear them, he promised him he'd find out what had happened.

"I don't know, Virgil," he said wearily. "Why is it always you who ends up in situations like this? Your brothers have caused me plenty of problems over the years, but you... you may be the quiet one, but when you decide to do something to get my attention you outdo the lot of them. You've put years on me, you know that?"

An orderly entered just then, ready to take Virgil away, so with a final few words of comfort to his son Jeff returned to the waiting room trying to decide what to tell his mother and dreading the calls he'd have to make to Scott and John.

* * *

It was another hour and a half before the doctor returned. Jeff couldn't gauge anything from the neutral expression on his face. As the man suggested he accompany him into his office, he pulled Gordon to his feet, ignoring the doubtful look on the doctor's face as he looked at the boy.

"Okay, Mr Tracy," the doctor began once they were settled in his office, "The results of the scans are back and we have a better idea of Virgil's condition. He was lucky."

_Lucky?_ Jeff thought, remembering how dreadful his son had looked. He'd never seen anyone look less lucky. But the doctor at least seemed positive and his fear lifted a little.

"Fortunately there's no serious damage to his spine. There's some severe bruising, but no fractures. His leg is broken, but that will heal without any major problems. It's the head injury which is still our main concern."

The relief Jeff felt at the news that Virgil wasn't going to be paralysed vanished at this comment.

"Hasn't he woken up yet?" he asked, sensing Gordon tense up beside him.

"Not yet. He has a severe concussion. It's likely he'll be out for some time and when he does wake up he's going to be in a lot of pain. It won't be pleasant for him."

"But he will wake up?" Gordon's anxiety was evident in his low, frightened voice.

"I'm hopeful of a full recovery. We need to keep a close eye on him though, just in case. I've had him moved to the ICU if you'd like to see him, Mr Tracy."

"What about me?" Gordon asked.

"I'm sorry. We don't allow children up there." The doctor's voice softened as he looked at the distraught boy. "Your brother's in safe hands. We'll take good care of him."

Jeff stood up and shook the doctor's hand. He needed to get to Virgil, but he knew he had to take care of Gordon first.

"Come on, son. I'll get Dylan to take you home. Grandma could do with some company and you look like you need some sleep. I promise you'll be able to see Virgil just as soon as he's awake. Okay?"

Gordon thought about protesting, but what was the point? Dad and the doctor had obviously made up their minds. And he was exhausted. Not that he was likely to sleep, of course. The image of Virgil lying in the road was going to haunt him for a long time and he wouldn't rest until he knew McCauley had been caught.

Settling himself into the chair beside Virgil's bed, Jeff readied himself for a long night. He'd called his mother after sending Gordon home and wished he could have done more to reassure her. But all he could do was wait. Looking across at his son, deathly pale with deep purple smudges under his eyes, he felt a momentary panic, before the regular beep of the monitors assured him that Virgil was still with him.

"It's alright, son," he murmured. "You're going to be okay, Virgil. Just rest now. Scott and John are on their way back and you need to be awake by the time they get here. You'll be fine, son."

* * *

John was the first to make it back to Kansas, early Saturday morning. Hoping for some news, he went to the house before the hospital. As much as he wanted to see Virgil he needed to check in with the rest of his family too. As he opened the door he was struck by how quiet it was. He obviously hadn't expected to hear the sound of the piano, and the lack of music was depressing. But there were no voices, no TV, none of the usual sounds which would have told him everything was okay.

Calling out,

"Hey, I'm home! Anyone around?" he was relieved when Alan wandered out from the kitchen. The kid looked anxious, still in his pyjamas, his hair sticking up in all directions as though he'd only just got up.

"Alan! Any news?"

Alan shook his head. "Nothing. Dad's been at the hospital all night. Grandma left about ten minutes ago. They wouldn't let me and Gordon go. Gordy's really mad."

He sighed. He didn't really want to see his brother lying in a hospital bed, but it was worse to have to imagine what might be going on. Gordon hadn't really told him much and his brother's reticence just made the younger boy even more concerned. It must have been bad for Gordon to have reacted like this, just staring grimly into space, lost in the memory of the night before. He'd never seen him like this before and it made him nervous.

"Oh," John said. He guessed there would be some kind of age restriction on the intensive care unit, but he could understand his brothers wanting to see Virgil. "I'll go and talk to him."

He found Gordon in the lounge.

"How are you doing?" John asked, eyeing his brother thoughtfully. Gordon was as far from his usual cheerful self as it was possible to be, slumped on the couch, a magazine crumpled underneath him. He sat down next to Gordon, surprised when his brother suddenly rested his head against his shoulder.

"Gordy?"

"They won't let me see him! They say I'm too young and that it would upset me. Like the sight of my brother lying bleeding in the road didn't upset me! How could anything be worse than that?" Gordon was raging now. "Dad and Grandma will get to see Virg as often as they want. So will you. But I just have to sit here and wait and be treated like some kind of kid. I just want to see Virgil!" He ran out of steam just as rapidly as he'd started, then turned away. It wasn't hard for John to realise that he was desperately close to tears.

"I'm not too young to cope with it," he gasped. "I'm not..."

John just put an awkward arm around him and let him cry. It all came out: Alice, the fight with McCauley, the way he'd parted from Virgil on such bad terms. And of course, all his suspicions of McCauley.

"Hey, it's okay," he soothed. "I'll talk to Dad. And if he still says no I'll see what I can do about sneaking you in, okay?"

Gordon looked at him in surprise.

"You will?"

"Sure. Just don't tell Alan. "

"Thanks." Gordon sniffled a little, wiping his eyes on his sleeve. "I thought you'd be on their side."

John smiled. "I'm not Scott. And I don't think Dad's always right."

Gordon almost let out a gasp at this heresy, waiting for a bolt of lightning to strike his brother dead. When, after a full minute, John was still breathing, he relaxed a little, wondering if he'd found an ally in the most unlikely of his brothers.

John felt bad about leaving his young brothers, but in the end Gordon had insisted that he go to the hospital. His brothers had often joked that he was a pessimist – he preferred to think of himself as a realist – and right now he was full of dismal thoughts. He'd never actually been inside an intensive care unit before, though he'd read about such things in novels and seen plenty of medical dramas on TV. He was in no doubt that the reality was going to be much worse. And as usual he was right. Virgil looked terrible and the sight of him just made John want to cry. It was a strange feeling for the usually composed John and if it hadn't been for Grandma's comforting presence he might just have turned round and walked out. He could well understand why his father wanted to keep Gordon away and he wondered if he'd been a little hasty in promising Gordon a visit.

"John!" Grandma must have realised his distress because she was out of her seat and holding him tightly. He found it comforting and hugged her back for a moment. His father got up and came over too.

"How are you son?"

"I'm okay," John said. Of course he was – _he_ wasn't the one who'd been mown down by a car.

"How's he doing?"

"No change," Jeff said with a sigh.

"I called into the house," John said when they were all settled around Virgil's bed. "Gordon's not handling this too well."

"I know," Grandma said, sounding guilty. "I shouldn't really have left him, or Alan, but I needed to see Virgil. I'll go back soon."

John had been debating whether or not to criticise his father and grandmother for leaving his younger brothers alone, but seeing Grandma's distraught expression as she looked back at Virgil he couldn't bring himself to do it. Even so, someone would have to go back to them soon. Gordon couldn't cope with sitting at home waiting all day. And it wasn't as if Virgil would notice if one of them left.

"He's convinced McCauley was responsible," John eventually said, only for his father to shake his head.

"The police spoke to me earlier. This McCauley boy was apparently at home when Virgil got hurt."

"And you believe that?" John asked. "It's a bit of a coincidence isn't it? Gordon's not going to accept that. He seems determined to prove that it was McCauley."

"I don't care what Gordon says," Jeff snapped, all the stress of the last few hours suddenly coming out. "He's to stay out of it. The police will look into it and if they don't find anything out then I'll put my own people onto it. But I don't need to be worrying about another one of you boys. I mean it, John, I expect you to keep him in line. He-"

He was cut off when his mother called his name sharply. Looking over at her he expected a reprimand for losing his cool, but to his surprise she wasn't even looking at him. Instead she was on her feet leaning over Virgil. He heard a low moan and saw his son's hand moving. To his joy and relief he saw Virgil open his eyes and he reached for the call button as his mother continued to call to her grandson.

"Virgil, sweetheart, can you hear me?"

His eyelids fluttered but he didn't seem able to open them properly. He moaned again, obviously in pain, and Grandma gently took his hand.

"It's alright, Virgil. You're in the hospital. You're going to be okay."

There was no response for a moment, then came a faint, tired whisper,

"Momma?"

Grandma drew in a sharp breath. Hiding her distress at his confusion and her own pain at not being recognised - she'd raised the boy since he was six years old - she bent over Virgil again,

"No, sweetheart, it's Grandma. Your father's here. John too."

"Hey, Virg," John called gently. "It's okay, everything's going to be fine."

Jeff placed a hand on his son's shoulder, watching anxiously for some reaction.

"Virgil? Can you hear me? How are you, son?"

There was no response. Virgil had drifted back into unconsciousness. But the watchers by his bed felt a lot more hopeful than they had done a few minutes earlier.

Doctor Flynn was pleased at the news. Reassuring a distressed Grandma that Virgil's confusion was only to be expected, he examined his patient and declared himself optimistic that there would be more lengthy spells of coherence as Virgil woke up.

* * *

Scott arrived an hour later, charging into the room and making everyone jump.

"How is he?"

"He's going to be alright," Grandma told him. "I know he looks bad but the doctor thinks he's doing well."

Scott wasn't entirely convinced – 'bad' was an understatement as far as he was concerned - he'd need to see Virgil awake before he'd really believe he was okay, but he managed a smile for his grandmother before taking a seat next to Virgil. Grandma could see he wanted some time alone with his brother.

"Come on," she whispered to Jeff and John, "We'll go for a coffee."

Maybe Scott would be able to rouse his brother, she thought as she ushered the others out of the room. Meanwhile, she'd try to persuade Jeff to go home. He'd been at the hospital all night and he was exhausted. Plus Gordon and Alan needed someone to take care of them. She'd go back later and make sure they were okay, but right now she couldn't bear to leave Virgil.

Light and colour had always evoked powerful responses in Virgil. But never before had they physically hurt. Opening his eyes he was confronted with a blurry kaleidoscope of images which made no sense. A booming voice accompanied them, a voice he thought he knew, but again, there was no sense to be made of it. A horrible feeling of sickness swept over him and the resulting nausea was enough to send him spiralling thankfully back into oblivion.

Scott looked at his brother in consternation as he reached for the call button. When Virgil had opened his eyes he'd been delighted, jumping up and calling out to his brother. He'd prayed for more of a reaction than the others had got earlier and he'd got it. It just wasn't the one he'd hoped for. Virgil had been violently sick before drifting back into unconsciousness.

The nurse who answered his call wasn't surprised, reassuring him that all this was perfectly normal for someone suffering a head injury before gently pushing him out of the room so she could clean up. Even so, Scott was shaking as he took a seat outside his brother's room.

He was still sitting there when John came back. He'd finished his coffee quickly, hoping for time to talk to his brother before his grandmother and father returned. Seeing Scott outside the room, he immediately knew something had happened.

"What's wrong?"

"He came round," Scott sighed. "Then he threw up and passed out again."

"Well, it's a step in the right direction, I guess," John reassured him. He glanced inside the room and saw that the nurse wasn't quite finished so he took a seat next to Scott.

"I need to talk to you about Gordon."

Scott looked at him in surprise. "Gordon? What's going on with him?"

John explained the situation. "It's killing him that he can't see Virgil."

Scott thought for a moment. "I can understand how he feels, but Dad and the doctors have got a point you know. It wasn't exactly pleasant just now. And I guess Virg would like to keep some shred of dignity too. You said yourself he's getting better. Gordon can see him in a day or two."

John shook his head. "You haven't been home, Scott. You haven't seen the state he's in. Plus, he's got this idea that McCauley's responsible and nothing is persuading him otherwise."

Scott's expression darkened. "If McCauley is responsible then he'd better hope the police get to him before I do."

"You and me both," John agreed. "But the police don't seem to think he is involved."

"And what does Gordon think?"

"He doesn't know. Dad's going back home now – he'll have to tell him."

* * *

Jeff pulled up outside the house and sat in his car for a moment. There were very few occasions when he hadn't felt a sense of relief or comfort when he arrived home, but that afternoon he really didn't want to be there. He'd recognised the force of his mother's argument when she'd pointed out that he'd had no sleep the night before and that he couldn't go on like this. She'd gone on to remind him there would be three people to tend to Virgil and that he had two other sons who needed him. He'd objected, of course, but John had taken her side and he'd been too tired to fight them both. After a final visit to Virgil, quiet and still once more, he'd given in. But he didn't think there would be much rest in store for him. As if sleep wouldn't be hard enough to come by with all his concerns about Virgil, he thought Gordon was probably going to give him even more to worry about.

He'd been right to be nervous. As soon as he'd walked through the door Gordon had launched himself at him with questions about Virgil and accusations against McCauley. Jeff could barely get a word in. He let Gordon rant away for a moment, knowing that the boy was feeling guilty about his behaviour and frustrated that he hadn't been allowed to see Virgil, but finally he decided enough was enough.

"Gordon, sit down!" he snapped. "I've told you, Virgil's doing well, all things considered. As for McCauley... The police came to see me this morning. James McCauley has five witnesses prepared to swear that he was with them at the time Virgil got hurt."

"They're lying!" Gordon raged. "You don't know what his friends are like. They're all as bad as him."

"Maybe so," Jeff said, trying to be patient. "But that's not all. Gordon, what kind of car does he drive?"

"Some kind of Ford. Black, battered. Nothing special," Gordon muttered.

"A black car," Jeff agreed. "The car which hit Virgil was red."

Gordon looked at him. "How do you know? Did someone see something?"

Jeff swallowed nervously, already regretting broaching this subject. "No son, but the nurse spent an hour cleaning Virgil's cuts and scrapes. As well as bits of glass she found flecks of paint... red paint. It couldn't have been McCauley's car."

Gordon looked at him in horror as he thought this through. Then he shook his head. "It was him. I know it was. Dad, you have to do something."

"There's not much I can do. I'll have my people look into it, but no one saw anything and there are no cameras on that road – it's just a quiet residential street."

Yeah," Gordon said bitterly. "That should be proof in itself. It's not like there are cars up and down all the time. That's why Virgil was lying in the gutter for half an hour in the rain and the cold. It's just too much of a coincidence to think that McCauley threatened Virg then someone else just happened to run him down."

Jeff knew that if he was fourteen he'd be reacting in exactly the same way. But he was considerably older and wiser and he didn't want Gordon to do anything rash.

"I'm sorry, Gordon," Jeff put a hand on his son's shoulder and was hurt when he shook it off. "I want whoever did this to be caught just as much as you do. But there's no point trying to put the blame on McCauley without any evidence. Look, hopefully when Virgil wakes up he'll be able to tell us something more. We can only wait."

Retreating to his room, Gordon reflected on this. Maybe his father was right. Maybe it was just some horrible coincidence, the kind Virgil seemed to attract so readily. After all, his brother had managed to get himself taken hostage twice in a year. But he couldn't bring himself to believe it. And if his father and the police didn't want to find out the truth then maybe he would.


	5. Chapter 5

_A quick update to say thanks for all the reviews!_

Chapter Five

The four oldest members of the Tracy family had taken it in turns to stay with Virgil all through Saturday night and into Sunday. As time went by, Virgil had become increasingly restless, obviously in pain despite the medication the doctor had given him. Though they hated to see him suffer, his family were increasingly optimistic that he would soon wake up.

Virgil didn't really want to wake up though. Every time he found himself rejoining the real world he had to endure wave after wave of pain and sickness. Despite the knowledge that his family were waiting for him – and the sound of their voices was becoming steadily clearer, breaking through the haze which surrounded him - he tried to ignore them, knowing that to wake up would just bring more pain. He hurt all over, but his head and his back seemed to be the worst. His leg too. That was enough to be going on with, surely? No, the prospect of consciousness held no appeal at all. Why were his family so insistent that he wake up? Did they want him to suffer? Why couldn't they just leave him alone?

Gordon still hadn't been allowed to see his brother and his moodiness had depressed everyone when they'd taken it in turns to go home for a rest. Only John seemed to have been able to cheer him up, much to Jeff's relief. He'd been worried that his son was going to do something stupid and go after James McCauley, but Gordon seemed to have settled down after his talk with his brother. If he still thought McCauley was responsible he was keeping his thoughts to himself. For his own part, Jeff didn't know what to think. There had been no more news on his son's attacker and he had already decided to bring in his own people if the police had made no progress by the following morning.

At the hospital, Grandma had spent Sunday morning with Virgil, with Scott and John taking over in the afternoon.

"I'd better get going," she said reluctantly. "I told your father I'd be back by two. I'll get you some coffee before I go." She left the room, leaving Scott and John alone.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to bring Gordon here?" Scott asked. He'd been unconvinced by John's arguments, despite having seen for himself how troubled his brother was. He couldn't bear to see Virgil like this and he wanted to protect Gordon from the sight if he could.

"He saw him lying in the road, remember? This has to be an improvement."

Now that was something Scott really didn't want to think about.

"Guess so. When's he coming?"

"He should be downstairs now. As soon as Grandma goes and the nurse has been in I'll go and get him. He's told Dad he's going swimming."

Scott said nothing. He didn't approve of the secrecy and he knew his father would be livid if he found out. Still, he knew he'd have done exactly the same if he'd been in Gordon's shoes.

Two minutes after Grandma had left – escorted to her car by Scott, just in case she decided to return for any reason – John sneaked Gordon in. Dropping his kit bag on the floor, Gordon shot across to Virgil's bed. Coming to a halt he gazed down at his brother, fearful of what he might see. Actually Virgil didn't look as bad as he'd imagined. Pale and lifeless, sure, but at least he was in one piece.

"Hi Virg," he said. "How are you? I've been trying to get in to see you but the doctors wouldn't let me."

There was no response. John smiled across at him then leaned over the bed, shaking his brother's shoulder.

"Hey,Virgil," he called softly. "Look who's here to see you. It's Gordon."

Dragged back to semi-wakefulness once more, Virgil struggled to take in what John was telling him. Gordon? Yes, he knew Gordon. Random flashes of memory came back to him – lots of noise, frantic activity and general chaos - and he groaned. He wanted peace and quiet right now. But Gordon didn't do peace and quiet and even the gentle murmurs of the others' low voices had been hard enough to deal with. Feeling sick and with his head pounding, Virgil knew he couldn't cope with Gordon right now. He just wanted to sleep.

Gordon looked at John in surprise as Virgil twisted his head away from him. Muttering, "Go 'way," he scrunched his eyes closed, letting out a moan as the movement made his headache worse.

"Virg?" John asked in concern. He should have been pleased that his brother was coherent enough to speak, but the words which had come out had got him worried. He looked across at Gordon who looked devastated.

"Hey, Virgil," Gordon tried again. A thought struck him. "Virg?" he said and the anxiety in his voice got John's attention right away. "Do you blame me? If I hadn't gone to the party you wouldn't have had to walk to Neil's with me. I'm sorry. I never thought..."

His voice had risen and Virgil pulled away with another moan. "Leave me alone," he gasped. John put a hand on his shoulder to calm him and was just about to speak to Gordon when the younger boy suddenly backed away from the bed and was out of the room before his brother could stop him.

Unusually, John was completely at a loss. Glancing down at Virgil, who seemed to have settled now Gordon was gone, he debated whether to leave him and follow Gordon. The door opened and he hoped it was the boy returning, but it was Scott.

"Good, you take over here."

John was gone, leaving Scott standing there in bemusement, wondering where Gordon was and why John was running out with Gordon's kit bag in his hand. Actually it didn't take him too long to figure it out – or at least to work out that things couldn't have gone well. Taking a seat beside Virgil he sighed,

"Well, Virg, I guess Johnny's little plan didn't quite work out, huh?"

When there was no response he sat back, hoping that his other two brothers could work things out.

Finally finding an exit, Gordon burst out of the hospital. He found a bench and sat down, hardly able to believe what had happened. Did Virgil blame him? He'd wanted to reassure himself that his brother was alright, but now he just felt worse and he didn't think he'd made things any better for Virgil either. When John finally found him, Gordon let it all out. It was a couple of minutes before John could get a word in.

"Cheer up, Gordon. I'm sure Virgil doesn't blame you. I'm not sure he can even think that clearly right now. He was probably just confused. He's in a lot of pain, you know. I guess you caught him at a bad time."

"He didn't tell you to go away. And I don't see Scott anywhere around, so I'm guessing he's still up there."

As John continued to try to reassure him, Gordon just stared into the distance. Suddenly standing up he grabbed his bag from John.

"Where are you going?" John asked in surprise.

"For a swim," Gordon said, not even looking back. Wondering if he should have listened to his father and the doctor after all, John made his way back up to Virgil's room.

* * *

That evening Jeff was taking a turn at Virgil's bedside. Virgil still hadn't woken up properly, though he had managed the odd moment of awareness before drifting off once again. The doctor was happy with his progress, upping the pain relief in the hope that Virgil would be fully awake within a few hours. Jeff hoped that he'd be the one who was with him when he woke. He just wished Virgil would hurry up about it - he was desperate for reassurance that there would be no permanent damage.

It wasn't until nine o'clock that night that Virgil's eyes opened and stayed open. Despite the fact that he'd been expecting this for several hours, Jeff hardly dared believe what he was seeing and it was a moment before he could speak.

"Virgil? Welcome back, son. We've been worried about you."

Virgil stared up at him groggily. For the first time in a long time the pain was bearable. He could see clearly and he could keep his eyes open without wanting to be sick. He couldn't think straight at first, though, and it even took him a moment to recognise his father. Looking around he slowly became aware that he was in a hospital bed, but for the life of him he didn't know why that would be the case.

Jeff watched him anxiously as his eyes focused and he seemingly tried to organise his thoughts.

"What happened?" Virgil knew it wasn't the most original question, but right now it was the only one he had.

Jeff hesitated for a moment before giving his son the short version of events,

"You were hit by a car. You've been out for nearly two days, but you're going to be fine."

Virgil tried to take this in. Two days? A car? The last thing he remembered was...

"But the show... who's going to play the piano?" he whispered hoarsely.

Jeff had to smile. "It's all over. You managed to wait until after the last show before getting yourself into trouble."

"I did? I don't remember."

"You were great. I'm sure there's a recording somewhere – you can enjoy Gordon's performance as well as your own."

Jeff tried to hide his concern at his son's apparent loss of memory. Although the doctor had warned him that Virgil might well have no recollection of the hours prior to the attack, he'd clung to the hope that his son might be able to tell him what had happened.

"Virgil, don't you remember anything? We were hoping you might have some idea of who did this to you."

But Virgil was exhausted already and the effort of trying to remember was making his head ache even more. He was asleep before his father could probe any further.

* * *

It took a lot of persuasion on Grandma's part before Gordon agreed to go to school the next day.

"Honey, you know Virgil's getting better. He's going to be moved to a normal room today. You can see him this evening."

"If he wants to see me," Gordon muttered as he headed up the stairs to get ready. He supposed he could have put up more of a fight; after all, there was no way he'd be able to concentrate on any of his classes, so what was the point of going to school? It was only the need to find out what James McCauley was up to which got him moving. He was willing to bet that the other boy wouldn't even turn up for school, which to Gordon would be ample proof of his guilt. Two days and two sleepless nights hadn't done anything to convince him of McCauley's innocence, whatever the police and his father might think.

Scott dropped his brother off at school on his way to the hospital. As he waved goodbye to him, Gordon heard his name called. He turned round to face the first of many concerned students who had heard about Virgil. Relieved that he could share some good news, he gave a brief account of his father's latest report on his brother. As he walked through the car park he came to a sudden stop. Parked innocently in a corner space was James McCauley's car. Even though he knew it wasn't the one which had hit his brother, Gordon couldn't stop himself walking around it, inspecting every inch.

"Gordon?" It was Neil. "Do you still think it was McCauley?"

Gordon hesitated. A group of students watched him as he tried to decide whether to voice his suspicions. He was about to go for it in the hope that someone would be able to give him some information, when the subject of his thoughts suddenly made an appearance.

"What's going on?" McCauley asked. "Oh, it's you, Tracy. How's your brother? Guess Friday wasn't his lucky night."

Gordon would have thrown himself at McCauley and to hell with the consequences if Neil hadn't held him back.

"I heard what happened," McCauley continued. "The police came over to talk to me, but I guess you already know about that." He turned to include the rest of the onlookers in his next speech. "You'll also know that I have five people who'll swear that I was with them when your brother got hurt. And, as you can see, my car hasn't got a scratch on it."

There was a certain amount of whispering at this as people moved closer to his car to get a good look. No one wanted to believe him – he'd upset far too many people over the years to have much support right now – but he seemed to have a good alibi. Plus, although he'd been outstanding in the play, he surely wasn't a good enough actor to carry this performance off. He seemed genuine – annoyed at being bothered by the police, keen to put an end to Gordon's suspicions and – if not particularly concerned about Virgil – at least tactful enough to ask after him.

Gordon didn't know what to say. So many thoughts were running through his head at that moment that he couldn't pull one of them out and form it into any kind of coherent sentence. He couldn't believe the audacity of the other boy. How could he stand there asking after Virgil when he was the one who'd put him in the hospital? Wasn't he? Suddenly Gordon felt very tired. He could see McCauley had convinced many of the students and he had nothing to back up any argument against him. What good was intuition against evidence?

Fighting the desire to kick McCauley's windows in he allowed Neil to pull him away. They picked up speed as the bell rang.

"Don't let him get to you," Neil said as they took their seats. "He'll give himself away eventually – you know he's got the brains of a moose."

Gordon managed a smile. It faded as Alice came in and sat down without even looking at him. It was going to be a tough day, he thought. Not even the prospect of a legitimate visit to Virgil could make him feel better. Even though his father had reassured him that Virgil didn't remember anything about the events during and after the show, he couldn't forget how his brother had reacted the last time he'd visited. He didn't think he could face another rejection.

Sure enough, the morning passed slowly and it was a relief when morning break came. Lost in thought, he was surprised when Alice came over.

"How's Virgil?" she asked.

"Doing okay," Gordon said shortly, wondering if the question meant that her old feelings for his brother had resurfaced. When she blushed and looked down at the floor he decided that this must be the case and he started to walk away.

Alice grabbed his arm, looking around anxiously then pulling him into a corner. A couple of days ago this would have made him feel like the luckiest boy alive. Now it just made him nervous. He really didn't need another run in with McCauley. Apparently neither did she, because instead of looking at him she was anxiously scanning the room.

"Have the police found out who did it?" she asked.

"No." He wasn't going to share his suspicions with her. What was the point?

"I heard it was a red car that hit him," she went on.

"Yeah."

"Gordon..." she hesitated, causing him to look at her carefully. Like him she looked tired, but she also looked scared.

"There's something you should know. Last night, James's brother Ross came over to see my brother. But he had James's car, not his own. I just wondered... The thing is, Ross got a new car last week – I saw it when he came to show it off to Kevin. It's red."

Gordon stared at her. Ross? Well, Ross's car at least. There could be any number of reasons why James had been driving Ross's car. Or maybe it was Ross himself – he was just as much of a bully as his younger brother – and Virgil had got the better of him too in the past. Gordon could well believe that he'd get involved in any revenge attack.

"We have to call Dad," he decided, pulling out his phone.

"_No!"_ Alice grabbed his hand to stop him. "I don't want to get Kevin into trouble. He said this morning that Ross asked him to help him do some work on the car. He'll be round there now."

Gordon thought for a moment. He understood her need to protect her brother, even if he was one of McCauley's gang.

"Okay, call him and get him away. Tell him someone's ill or you've left the gas on or something. Now give me Ross's address."

Five minutes later, after a quick hug and a grateful kiss, Gordon was flying out of the school gates towards the bus stop.

* * *

John and Scott were taking their turn with Virgil, both full of smiles when they saw how much better their brother was looking. Virgil was more awake now, if a little hazy, and able to hold a fairly coherent conversation.

"How's Gordon?" he asked. His father had filled him in on everything that had happened, hoping it would jog his memory. But it was still a blank, much to Virgil's frustration. He worried about his brother though, hoping he hadn't been too traumatised by the events he'd witnessed.

When Scott and John exchanged anxious glances Virgil thought the worst.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you blame him?" John asked.

"For what?" Virgil's thought processes were still a bit fuzzy and he wasn't quite sure what John was getting at. "What did he do?"

"Nothing," Scott said. "It's just that when John sneaked him in here the other day you told him to go away."

"I did?" Virgil was confused. "Why did I do that?"

"No idea," John sighed. "So if we get him in here again will you talk to him?"

"Sure," Virgil said. "Tell him I can't wait to see him."

His older brothers looked at each other with relief.

"See," said Scott. "I told you there was nothing to worry about. Why don't you give Gordon a call and tell him to come along after school."

"Good idea," John agreed, slipping outside to make the call. He realised Gordon would be in class, so decided to send a message. He was surprised when his phone rang just as he was about to go back to Virgil.

"Hey Gordon, what are you doing out of class?"

"Never mind that, John. Listen, I think I'm onto something. Alice says McCauley's brother has a red car. But he wasn't driving it last night, he had James's car instead. Coincidence?"

John thought for a minute. It could be a coincidence, he supposed, but it seemed unlikely. Plus he didn't want to upset Gordon by not taking his concerns seriously.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Does Alice know where the car is now?"

"She thinks it'll be at Ross's place. He came round last night and asked her brother to give him a hand with something today. She didn't hear anything else, but her brother knows a fair bit about cars. Looks like he's trying to repair the damage."

"I'll give the police a call," John said. "Get back to class and I'll let you know what happens."

"Bit late for that," Gordon said. "I'm nearly at Ross's now. I'll have a look round and call you back."

"What? Gordon, wait – what do you mean you're at Ross's?"

"John, they've had the whole morning to start working on that car. They could have repaired most of the damage already. And the police wouldn't believe me anyway. They didn't before."

"Gordon, they didn't have any evidence before. And anyway, if it's Ross's car then it doesn't mean James was driving. I'll call the police now. Just stay where you are, okay?"

"I think I can sneak around the side and get a look through the window."

"No! Look, where are you?"

Gordon gave him the address.

"Right, listen, I'm on my way. Just stay where you are."

"You're coming over?" Gordon sounded uncertain.

"Yeah. I'll get Scott. We'll be there in twenty minutes. Can you hold on that long? Even if there's nothing going on Ross McCauley isn't going to be too happy to find you wandering around his garden. One brother in hospital is enough. Just stay put, okay?"

There was silence for a moment as Gordon considered this. "Okay. But hurry up."

John already had the call disconnected and was running for Virgil's room. He just hoped he and Scott could get to Gordon before he did something stupid. He hadn't been joking when he'd mentioned the possibility of his brother getting hurt. Ross was even worse than James and he wasn't a fan of the Tracys either.

He pulled up and took a breath before entering Virgil's room. He was hoping his brother would be asleep again and he frowned when he saw that Virgil was still wide awake and holding a pretty articulate conversation with Scott. Great! Why did he have to choose now to start taking an interest in things? He supposed he could have just announced that there was a problem, but the last thing Virgil needed right now was to be worrying about Gordon. The kid had enough to cope with – the tight lines of pain around his eyes made that very clear.

"Everything okay?" Scott at least had registered that something was bothering John.

"Uh yeah," John said slowly. "It's just... I forgot to buy a newspaper just now. I think I'll go pick one up. Scott, do you want anything?" His eyes bored into his brother, the message clear. Thankfully Scott was quick on the uptake, even if he did look a little confused.

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe I'll just come down with you and have a look around. You'll be okay for a bit won't you Virg?" He too started edging towards the door.

"You're leaving me?" Virgil asked in confusion. He'd just tentatively suggested to Scott that his brothers should go home and been told in no uncertain terms that he wasn't going to be left alone just yet. His poor, tired brain couldn't cope with this turn of events.

"We won't be long," Scott assured him. John said nothing, just smiled vaguely as he pulled Scott out the door.

Then they were gone, leaving Virgil staring up at the ceiling, bored after just five minutes.

"Thanks, guys," he muttered. "I hope Gordon's going to be more entertaining when he gets here." With nothing else to do he fell asleep.

* * *

Gordon kept an inconspicuous watch on Ross's house from across the street. The house was shabby, the garden overgrown and there didn't seem to be anyone around. But two minutes after he'd ended his conversation with John a van pulled up outside then reversed down the drive, coming to a stop close by the garage door. Ross appeared as the driver got out and they went to the back of the van. Gordon couldn't see what was going on but he heard the sound of the garage door being rolled up. Then the doors of the van were opened and something was carried into the garage. The door was quickly closed and after a brief conversation and the handing over of some cash, the van drove away.

Gordon looked at his watch, desperate to know what was happening. He still had fifteen minutes to wait for his brothers, but all seemed quiet, and anyway it looked as if Ross would be busy for a while with whatever had just been delivered. Gordon decided that a quick look around wouldn't hurt. In fact, he thought, it would make things easier for his brothers if he could give them a bit more information. He crossed the street – being careful to look left and right just in case – and headed up towards the garage.

Pausing for a moment to listen at the door, Gordon couldn't hear anything with any clarity, just some muffled voices. Making his way round the side of the house, he gazed up at the high windows which would let him see inside. Pulling over a rusty garden chair, he hopped up and pressed his face up against the window.

What he saw made him shudder. Ross and another man – not Alice's brother, he was relieved to see - were pulling layers of wrapping off a new windshield. The car which stood in the centre of the garage was desperately in need of one. Its original windshield was shattered and there was a large dent in the hood. Gordon felt sick as he realised how hard Virgil must have hit the car to have done that amount of damage. He thought for a moment then took out his phone. Switching on the camera he took a few shots, praying the two men would be too focused on their task to notice the flash. They were. He watched as they finished their task then turned to the car and started to pry the old windshield loose. Pulling back just in case they should look up, Gordon activated the video setting on his phone and held it up to the window again. He watched grimly as the two men got to work, glancing at the red light every so often, just to reassure himself that everything was being recorded.

Gordon was so engrossed in his surveillance that he didn't hear the sound of footsteps behind him. It was only when a hand fell onto his shoulder, causing him to let out a startled yelp and drop the phone, that he realised he had company.

"Couldn't wait, huh?" Scott whispered. "You're lucky it's us not one of the McCauleys. What did you think you were doing? "

"Exactly what you two would have done!" Gordon pointed out, knowing full well that that little comment would shut his brothers up. Sure enough there was no comeback from either of them. John picked up the phone as Gordon jumped down from his chair, still trying to recover from the shock. Scott got up in his place. Both men were quiet for a moment as they realised what was going on.

"Bastard!" Scott jumped down, obviously intent on charging in. It took all John's strength to hold him back.

"Don't be stupid! We've got the evidence here. Call the police and let them handle it."

"Just give me two minutes with him!" Scott tried to push past.

"Scott! If you hurt McCauley you'll end up on an assault charge. And even though Dad's lawyers would get you off I'm willing to bet your superiors wouldn't be so forgiving. It's not worth destroying your career over this. Virgil's going to be okay and the police can take care of McCauley. Just calm down."

Gordon was back on the chair. He didn't really care who won the argument – he liked Scott's idea best, but he could see the logic of John's argument. What he did care about was the fact that the sound of Scott's raised voice had alerted Ross and his friend to the fact that they weren't alone and the two men were heading for the garage door. Neither had put down the tools they'd been using, and they looked as if they would be able to do some serious damage to anyone unlucky enough to be struck by them.

"Guys," Gordon called, jumping down and grabbing John's arm. "They heard you. They're coming out."

"And that's bad because?" Scott pushed past John, pleased that the fight was coming to him. With a groan John pushed the phone into Gordon's hands.

"Get out of here! Call the police!"

"But-"

"Gordon, just _go_! And don't come back!"

Gordon thought about protesting, but one look at Ross and his friend changed his mind. Leaving his older brothers to cut off any pursuit, he shot into the back garden, leapt over the fence and was away down the drive of the house next door. He'd run two blocks, clutching the phone so tightly that his hand hurt more than his legs or his lungs by the time he came to a stop. No one was following him. Slipping into someone's garden he crouched behind a bush and made the call to the police. Then he sat back to wait. He knew John was right, he should stay away. But he also knew that whilst Scott might be good in a fight, John was more the intellectual type. There would be no talking himself out of trouble here, though. No, Gordon thought. He'd have to head back; his brother was going to need his help.

Thinking for a moment, he took his phone and pushed it deep inside the bush. He had no intention of letting his evidence get back into the hands of Virgil's attackers. Then he set off back to Ross McCauley's house, hoping his brothers were okay and that the police would arrive soon.

Gordon did get there before the police - just. He wasn't surprised to see Scott pummelling Ross McCauley, even if his brother did look as if he'd taken a few hard hits before overpowering the other man. But it was John who gave him a real surprise. Not only was he unscathed, but he had the fourth man in a headlock from which there was apparently no escape – all the other man could do was wriggle and shout. As sirens wailed in the distance Gordon sat back and enjoyed the rest of the show, developing a new respect for his second oldest brother.

* * *

It was several hours later when the Tracy family congregated in Virgil's hospital room. By that time Scott, John and Gordon had given statements to the police and Scott had had his split lip and cut eyelid treated. He kept eyeing John incredulously, obviously wondering just how his brother had managed to handle himself so well. John looked a little smug, enjoying the surprise he'd given his brothers. That would teach them to underestimate him, he thought. Just because he liked to read didn't mean he was as helpless as they seemed to think. And since his discussion with his father about his proposal for a rescue organisation, he'd been determined to get himself into top physical condition. Plus his girlfriend was a keen martial arts enthusiast and he'd been happy to take an interest.

Poor Virgil was still confused. Gordon's lively retelling of the story had left his head spinning. He'd also passed on Neil's account of the moment the police had arrived at school to pick up a protesting and clearly terrified James McCauley.

"So who actually ran me over?" he asked.

"Well," Jeff said, fresh from a long conversation with the police. "It took a while to get it out of them. It was only when the police decided to charge Ross since it was his car that James finally confessed."

"I knew it!" Gordon exclaimed.

"Sorry, Gordon, I should have trusted you. But without any evidence... Anyway, it seems that James had an ulterior motive for taking part in the musical. Ross promised to give him his new car if he did it. Apparently he thought it was a safe bet, so he must have been pretty annoyed when his brother went through with it. Still, he kept his part of the bargain. He handed over the keys and the two of them went for a drive. James was still pretty angry about what had happened during the performance and he took them to Clem's house. They were debating whether or not to go in and cause some trouble when they caught sight of you, Virgil. It was a spur of the moment thing by all accounts. James swears it was an accident - he just wanted to scare you but the car skidded in the rain. Whether that's true or not..." He paused for a moment. "I'm just thankful they didn't have a chance to pick up speed otherwise you might not have got off so lightly."

Grandma agreed. Virgil didn't feel so grateful at that moment – his back was killing him - but he appreciated the sentiment.

"Thanks, Gordon," he said

His brother smiled. "Does that mean you like me now?"

"Guess so. Can't think why I didn't like you before."

Alan prepared to list any number of possible reasons, but Virgil yawned, flinching as he moved, causing Grandma to start fussing.

"Right everyone, your brother's had enough. Let's go."

Everyone filed out with a few last words for Virgil. As they headed for their cars Scott fell behind causing Jeff to slow down to keep pace with him.

"Everything okay, son?" His voice was full of concern.

Scott flushed. How the hell had John got away without a scratch whilst he looked like he'd gone ten rounds in a boxing ring?

"I'm fine. I was going to ask you about-" he glanced around to make sure they weren't going to be overheard. There were a few people near them so he didn't go into details "- the ... plan. You were going to tell Virgil soon?"

"Yes. Why? I'm not going to talk to him until he's well enough if that's what you're worried about."

"No, of course not. I just thought maybe you'd want to bring Gordon in on it too. He did really well today. He could have charged in and got himself into all sorts of trouble, but he's actually got a good head on his shoulders. He's surprised me these past few days."

Jeff thought for a moment. Maybe a bit of responsibility would be good for his son.

"You could be right. I'll think about it."

Gordon came running up to them, urging them to hurry up.

"We're on our way," Jeff said. "Listen, Gordon, I'm going to head back to the office tomorrow, but I'll be back on the weekend. Virgil should be out of hospital by then and I'd like to spend some time with you both."

"The weekend?" Gordon looked anxious. "Er, does it have to be _this_ weekend? I've kind of got plans."

"What plans?" Scott asked suspiciously. Gordon seemed uncharacteristically agitated.

"Well, Alice has agreed to go on a date. After swimming practice. Just as long as her brother doesn't find out. I don't think our family is too popular at the moment, although now both the McCauley brothers are out of the way there shouldn't be any real trouble."

Scott and Jeff exchanged amused looks as an embarrassed Gordon sprinted away towards Grandma.

"Well, it looks like Romeo might not be ready to come on board just yet," Scott laughed.

Jeff sighed as he caught sight of Mel heading into the hospital.

"That could make two of them. Maybe I'll wait a bit. Let Virgil get to college first."

He slung an arm around Scott's shoulder, apologising as his son flinched.

"Come on. Let's go home. I could do with some sleep before you boys get into some new trouble."

"Trouble? Us?" Scott looked pained.

"Well, Gordon and John will be alright. You and Virgil on the other hand... Maybe I'll get Alan to keep an eye on you."

He headed off, leaving an insulted Scott to stare after him in annoyance. He was never going to live this down.


	6. Chapter 6

_The final chapter – which I hadn't intended to write, but Math Girl and McHammy wanted to know the story of Scott and Katie and since I didn't know it myself I thought I'd better think of something. So here it is. Loopstagirl – I found a use for a certain thing after all!_

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed or added this to their alerts. Whirlgirl – really sorry I can't reply but thanks for all the comments – you always give me something to think about. (I think Grandma would have gone to evening service and made all the other boys go with her - well, tried at least! And James is 18, Ross is 20)_

Epilogue

Nearly two weeks later, the novelty of being back at home having long since worn off, Virgil wasn't in the best of moods. He could only get around with the aid of crutches, but his back was still painful, which made using them difficult. He was stuck in the house going out of his mind with boredom. He couldn't even play the piano. Gordon was out with Alice most evenings and, although Alan was doing his best to entertain him, he thought he'd go mad if he had to spend another minute indoors. He wished he could get his hands on James McCauley. It seemed he wouldn't even get the chance to face him when he finally got back to school - now he was out on bail McCauley was keeping a low profile and hadn't been seen since his arrest. Virgil hoped he was as miserable as he was. At least his father was coming home for a visit, although given that he spent most of his time shut up in his study these days, he was unlikely to be much of a distraction.

Sure enough, after a quick lunch Jeff retreated to his study. It bothered him to see Virgil so fed-up and he wondered what he could do to cheer him up. Sitting in thought for a while, he finally came to a decision and went to find his son.

When Gordon came home from school he wondered where Virgil had gone. When his grandmother told him he'd been in his father's study for the past four hours, Gordon felt a momentary panic. Four hours? What on earth had Virgil done? The only time you spent more than a few minutes in the study was if you'd done something which merited a lecture. He himself held the record – just over an hour and a half. It was pretty impressive if a housebound Virgil had managed to get himself into four hours' worth of trouble!

But when Virgil and Jeff finally emerged some twenty minutes later, Gordon realised that whatever they had been discussing, it hadn't been anything bad. Virgil looked happier than he had for days, totally energised, in fact. His father looked pleased with himself too.

"What's going on?" Gordon asked.

"Nothing," Virgil said. "We were just talking."

His father didn't elaborate, but his smile of approval at Virgil's non-committal reply made Gordon suspicious.

As they ate and Virgil seemed more animated than he'd been since coming home from the hospital, Gordon grew even more curious. But it wasn't until later that evening that he got the chance to speak to his brother alone.

"Come on then, Virg. What went on between you and Dad?"

Virgil was drawing and barely managed a reply.

"Just talking."

"What about?"

Virgil glanced over at him.

"Nothing in particular. Just chatting."

"Well it must have been some chat. You've cheered up no end. And if Scott couldn't manage it after spending an hour on the phone to you last night, I'd love to know what Dad could say to make a difference."

"It's private, okay?"

Virgil actually felt bad about not being able to tell his brother, but he appreciated the need for secrecy. His father had admitted, before revealing his plans, that he'd only told him now because he thought he needed something to take his mind off things and give him something to look forward to. Well, it had certainly worked! He couldn't wait to speak to Scott and John about it. He could well understand why his father had decided not to tell the younger ones. Gordon and Alan were incapable of keeping anything quiet. And although Jeff agreed with Scott that Gordon was likely to be an asset, he'd decided it was too great a burden to place on him just now. So for the time being Virgil would have to keep things to himself. He didn't think he'd have too much trouble there, though Gordon's curiosity was bound to be irritating.

Sure enough, Gordon had to keep probing.

"You can tell me, Virg."

Virgil laughed.

"And have the whole world know? I don't think so."

"Oh, so there is something to tell?"

"No! Now why don't you go and call Alice or something so I can get on with my drawing?"

"She's out with Jo tonight," Gordon informed him. "I was planning on spending the evening with my favourite big brother."

Virgil gave him a weary look. "Lucky me."

"Come on Virg. Tell you what, I'll tell you a secret and then you can tell me what Dad said."

"You don't have any secrets, Gordon." Virgil turned his attention back to his drawing.

"Yes I do. I don't tell you everything. I didn't tell you what happened between Scott and Katie Reynolds."

Well, that got Virgil's attention. The pencil fell from his fingers as he looked at his brother in surprise.

"Knew that'd get you interested," Gordon smirked. "Scott said he hadn't told you the whole story."

"Whole story?" Virgil wondered just what his brother had said.

"Yeah. You know what Scott was like when he was sixteen – a different girl every five minutes. They were falling over themselves to go out with him."

Virgil remembered alright – he'd been none too impressed when his older brother had suddenly developed interests beyond his brothers.

"But the one girl who turned him down was Katie Reynolds. And no one ever knew why. Scott didn't talk about it either – must have been a bit of a shock to find that he wasn't totally irresistible. He still hasn't got over it. He only told me about it to cheer me up when I was having trouble with Alice."

"So what happened?" Virgil asked. "You know why she turned him down?"

"No, that's just it. Scott doesn't know either. He really thought she liked him. He went to some party thinking he'd make his move, all dressed up to impress her – you remember what he was like, always fussing about his clothes, taking hours over his hair. Anyway, they were at some barbecue, he started talking to her, got around to asking her on a date. The next thing he knows, she's slapped his face and walked off. So he goes after her to find out what he's done wrong and she picks up this bucket of water they've put out in case there was a fire and throws it over him."

Virgil stared at him. "Bucket of water? I didn't know that."

Gordon was in full flow now. "No one did – well, only John. Scott said he was lucky there wasn't anyone else around otherwise it would have been all around town in five minutes. He just got back in his car and came home. He had to call John to bring him some dry clothes so he could get changed before he came back into the house. He didn't tell us because obviously we'd never let him hear the end of it. Of course, now that I'm more mature-" He ignored Virgil's laughter here. "Now that I'm more mature I can sympathise. Women are complicated, you know. Look how hard I had to work with Alice."

Virgil shook his head. "And Scott never knew why she did it?"

"No, she never spoke to him again."

"Oh."

"So?"

"Huh?"

"I've told you something, now you have to tell me. What did Dad say to snap you out of the mood you've been in ever since you came home?"

"Gordon! It's a secret. I can keep a secret, unlike some people. What do you think Scott would say if I told him I knew about Katie?"

"Ah, but you wouldn't tell him, would you? You can keep a secret."

"Yes, I can. Which is why I'm saying nothing about what went on between me and Dad."

With that he went back to his drawing. Gordon watched and nagged for a while longer then gave up and went to find Alan.

When he'd gone Virgil put down his pencil and thought for a moment. He could keep a secret alright. He'd been keeping one for the past six years for that matter. So Scott didn't know why Katie had turned him down? Virgil could have told him. So could Katie's brother Jack for that matter.

Virgil remembered that time six years ago very clearly. At eleven he'd been a very different character, the experiences which had changed him so much still ahead of him. Although he'd thought at the time that he was grown up and level-headed, he had to admit that in his own way he'd been as much of a brat as any of his younger brothers, with poor Scott bearing the brunt of it. He'd idolised his brother, so when Scott had started to get interested in girls, leaving him with less time to spend with his brothers, Virgil had been seriously put out. He'd done everything he could to get Scott's attention, but when his brother had started to drive he'd been able to escape more easily. Virgil hadn't liked it one bit and the two of them had had some pretty nasty arguments.

So when Scott had offered to drive him over to his friend's house for the third time in a week, Virgil had started to get suspicious. Jack Reynolds had a sister and Scott was obviously interested. Virgil knew Katie well and he didn't like her. Aside from having to listen to Jack's complaints about her – he was thankful he didn't have a sister if they were all like that – he'd spent enough time with her to find her seriously irritating. She seemed to live in front of the mirror and she was always complaining about the noise he and Jack made when they played. When she'd suddenly started asking about Scott he'd been happy to talk about him, not realising why she was so interested. It took a while, but eventually he came to realise that his enthusiastic praise of his brother hadn't been the best idea, because Katie had obviously decided that Scott was perfect boyfriend material.

Virgil and Jack had discussed this one afternoon. On the way over Scott had confided that he was planning to ask Katie out at a party they were both going to the following evening. Neither boy was impressed. Jack just hated his sister and wanted to see her taken down a peg or two, whilst Virgil was filled with horror at the thought of the simpering Katie monopolising his brother's attention. They agreed they had to do something. An hour later and their plan was in place.

Returning home, Virgil sneaked into Scott's room. Hunting around in his desk for a while, he came across an old notebook. There were a couple of blank pages at the back and Virgil decided this would be perfect.

Retreating into his own room he sat at his desk and thought for a moment. Then, reaching for some paper, he began to write. An hour later he was done. Then came the tricky bit. Opening Scott's notebook he turned to the first blank page and began to copy what he'd just written. It was a slow process and he had to keep stopping to check he was getting it right. Time and again he had to erase something and have another go. But eventually it was done. As a finishing touch he drew an embarrassingly poor picture of a fighter plane on the final page, then shut the notebook. Hiding it under his bed he went to call his friend. Phase one was complete. The next part was up to Jack.

He'd had second thoughts the next morning, but yet another argument with Scott decided him. Jack called over that afternoon, patiently answering Scott's questions about Katie. When he left, the notebook was safely tucked in his pocket.

Then all Virgil had needed to do was wait. Sure enough, Scott had arrived home from the party early and in a seriously bad mood. Virgil had been sensitive enough to stay out of his brother's way, feeling more than a little guilty when he realised Scott was genuinely upset. The feeling was replaced by one of triumph though as Scott offered to take him for a drive the following afternoon, since he had nothing better to do.

He could imagine what Katie's reaction would have been when Jack had gone into her room to show her the notebook he had 'found' at the Tracy house. Virgil had known exactly what his friend was going to say. Yes, he might not get on very well with her, but she was his sister and he felt a certain loyalty to her... Certainly he couldn't ignore something like this... Katie needed to know what she was letting herself in for if she was going to go out with Scott Tracy...

So Katie had opened the notebook – the one with SCOTT TRACY printed so neatly on the front. Flicking through it with some interest, getting an insight into the mind of the boy she liked so much, she came to a stop at a page headed: WHY I'M THE BEST. As she read through the long list she began to think that one of the things Scott was best at - which he'd actually left off his list - was arrogance. The list of his good qualities seemed endless. In fairness to Virgil, his eldest brother was his hero and it was all pretty much accurate as far as he was concerned. If Scott could have seen the list he'd have been genuinely touched – he'd probably have had a tear in his eye even as he was throttling his brother. Katie just stared at it. It was definitely Scott's handwriting, otherwise she'd have wondered if Jack was playing a trick on her. Surely no one would really make such a lengthy list of their own accomplishments would they? Scott obviously thought he was God's gift. Still, he _was_ rich, handsome, intelligent... Maybe she could forgive him his vanity.

But then she'd turned the page. And forgiveness was the last thing on her mind.

The next page was all about her. All the reasons why Scott should ask her out - which she had to admit she found flattering - and all the reasons why he shouldn't. Jack had enjoyed coming up with that list. Virgil had to admit his friend had a vicious streak – Grandma had never really liked him and she'd probably been right.

He could picture Katie's face when she came to the bit about how easy it would be to get her onto the back seat of the car. Six years later it still made him blush, thinking not only about what he'd written, but also how Jack had laughed at him as he'd explained the significance of the 'back seat'.

"Cars are about more than just the engine, Virg!"

Anyway, the trick had worked. Katie had been so insulted that she'd been itching to get her revenge on Scott. It had backfired though, he thought, remembering how Jack had told him how she hadn't been able to get another boyfriend for months. When word got round that she'd turned down Scott Tracy, what other boy was going to think he stood a chance?

And Virgil had got Scott to himself for two whole days before he'd recovered himself enough to find another girl.

Picking up his sketchpad again he turned to a new page. His conversation with his father had inspired him artistically, as well as giving him a whole new focus for his time in Denver. These sketches wouldn't be on display anywhere though. They wouldn't be passed around for his family to admire either – not for a while, anyway.

He could keep a secret alright...


End file.
